The Best Halloween Ever!
by CrusaderTransformer1
Summary: My insane ideas have struck again! XD This is a NBCCorpse Bride crossover fanfiction. It is also a JackEmily fanfiction, just because there's a shortage of this kind of fanfiction. Flames will be used to cook hotdogs and hamburgers. CHAPTER THREE IS HERE!
1. Chapter 1

**The Best Halloween Ever!**

By: Tiffany, Cassandra, and Tara

Once again, we've teamed up to write a story about our tendency to take an adventure in other worlds, be it in a book, movie, or game, always together...

I do not own Nightmare before Christmas, nor do I own the company which made this memorable classic of Halloween-goodness. I also don't own Corpse Bride or the company that made it. I just own myself, the character named Duke who will be appearing, and the girls own themselves and their ideas.

Guess what day it was when this particular adventure of ours began...that's right.

Halloween, one of the most awesome holidays of the year.

I was taking Cassandra and Tara trick-or-treating, and I was dressed up as a skeleton girl with a jack-o-lantern shirt that looked like it was three shirts on top of one another, green under black, black under the orange, and green pants that were ripped at the ends. I wore my favorite black boots to complete it and my usual silver cross around my neck. I was painting my face a lot like Jack Skellington's off of the Nightmare before Christmas in the upstairs bathroom. I mostly chose Jack's type of face because it was the easiest to do, but also because I love that movie!

As I painted, I decided along the way, to paint my lips red and so I ended up looking like a half rag-doll, half-skeleton.

"TIFFANY! THE GIRLS ARE WAITING ON YOU!!!" I heard Mom yell at me.

"OKAY! ALMOST DONE!" I yelled back, putting just a little more black make-up around one of my eyes.

I then powdered my face in order to make the make-up stay and, after putting everything away, went quickly downstairs.

Our friend Tara was waiting for me in the entry way, dressed up like a little vampire. She wore a short black dress with long sleeves that were ripped at the ends, a black cape, some black and purple tights underneath the skirt, and some black pointy shoes from last year's Halloween.

As I came down, I noticed that Cassandra wasn't there.

"Hey Tara." I said to her and then looked around the entry way, "Where's Cassandra?"

"She left her cat ears in the play house by accident." Tara told me, shifting her trick-or-treat bag to another hand.

"She went to go get them?" I asked Tara and she nodded before I heard rhino's feet running through the house towards the entry way.

Cassandra burst into the entry way, stopping where she was and panting like mad while leaning on her knees, her candy bag swinging on her arm.

Cassandra was dressed up like a black cat, with a black mask, cat ears, a tail and she had also had a jack-o-lantern shirt. She also wore finger-less black gloves and some black pants that were also ripped at the ends like mine and they had cute little patches on them, complete with black tennis shoes that I knew had cat paw prints on the soles.

"Whoa Cassandra, where's the fire?" I asked her, wondering why she was in such a hurry.

Trick-or-treating had only just started a second ago!

"Tiffany! You have GOT to come see this!" Cassandra said, lifting a hand as she spoke and grabbing me by the wrist.

"See what?" I asked as I allowed myself to be led, "Did someone put a prank or something in the back yard?"

"Come see!" Cassandra replied, slightly yanking on my arm.

"No need to yank on me!" I told her sternly as we went to the back yard.

As soon as we were outside, Cassandra let go and ran ahead.

"Come on, come see this!" Cassandra yelled at me as she ran.

Rolling my blackened eyes (haha!), I went into a jog with Tara right behind me and when I caught up with Cassandra and looked into the back yard, I was shocked.

Right where there was normally a HUGE space of grass in our back yard, was a forest darkened by night. The moonlight made it seem spooky and almost, alluring at the same time as some white mist came rolling out of the trees.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?!" I suddenly yelled, scaring both the girls into screaming and muttering an apology to them, I strode forward towards it, "Where the heck did this come from?!"

"I don't know!" Cassandra said somewhat defensively, coming to my side, "I just came out to get my cat ears, and when I came out the play house, they just grew really fast out of the ground!"

I stared at her for a long time, and normally someone would think that particular person was going crazy, but we had gone through too much and too many places together to think that about the other.

I quit staring at Cassandra and glared at the trees, wondering why they had come here of all places.

"These can't be real trees." I finally said, going towards a tree and kicking one as hard as I could.

Big mistake.

"OW! Okay, they're real!" I said, hopping around on one foot while holding my sore toe.

The girls had the nerve to giggle at what I was doing and I glared at them, making them fall silent.

After my toe FINALLY quit hurting, we just stood there and stared at the trees. The more I stared, the more I wanted to go in and check it out.

"Okay," I said finally, "Does anyone besides me want to go in and check this out?"

Both girls looked at me for a moment before nodding with slight smiles on their faces.

"Alrighty then, let's go," I said turning to the trees and adding, "Stay close to me."

"Ok." They told me and in we went.

We walked slowly through the mist and stepped over big roots, looking for the reason if it could be seen by human eyes or at all. We weren't in there very long at all before we all found the middle of the trees, which was a small clearing and in the middle of this clearing was a single tree. And on that tree was a jack-o-lantern, and seeing that made me freeze.

_The Halloween Tree, from the Nightmare before Christmas!_ My thoughts screamed at me.

"Tiffany, what's wrong?" Cassandra asked me, seeing how frozen I had become.

Before they could move, my arms went out like a trap and stopped them both from going any farther.

"You see that tree right there?" I asked, and when she nodded, I added, "NOBODY touch that tree!"

After the words left my mouth, the nose in the jack-o-lantern turn and the tree opened.

"OH CRAP!" I yelled, as a strong wind with autumn swirled around us and I found myself headed face-first into the tree with the girls screaming behind me as I was plunged into darkness. The wind suddenly stopped tossing me and I had a sensation like floating for a moment before landing on invisible ground. I couldn't see anything at all, but it turned out that my hearing was fine.

"Tiffany, Tara?" A slight scared voice said from my left.

I reached out and finding a hand, grabbed it. I heard Cassandra gasp loudly and felt her try to pull away.

"Cassandra, it's me!" I said, and she stopped pulling away and gripped my hand, like she was afraid I'd disappear if she let go.

"Tara? Tara!" I called into the dark around us.

"Y-y-y-yeah?" I heard Tara stammer and searching through the dark with one hand, I found her and grabbed her hand.

"Everybody okay?" I asked, listening hard.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I heard Cassandra say, sounding a little braver than before.

"I think so." I heard Tara, she still sounded scared.

I suddenly felt like I was floating again and Cassandra cried out before gripping my hand hard with both hands, Tara doing the exact same thing!

"OW! I'm NOT letting go!" I told them both, and they loosened their grip just a bit.

As we continued to float, I uttered a prayer in my mind to God that we would be okay and He would protect us no matter what. I felt a little better after doing so, but I still scared for the girls and myself, having no idea what was going to happen to us.

Something finally came into my view and it happened to be a scarecrow with a sign that said HALLOWEEN TOWN on it. It swung to point at something as we floated by it.

"Oh perfect, here we go!" I growled to myself.

I did like the movie, but I never said that I wanted to go there! We were suddenly in a graveyard when I heard this...

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Cassandra suddenly screamed, making me look at her.

"What?!" I asked her, and noticed that her cat-ears and tail seemed like they were moving like they were part of her, I didn't get time to dwell on it.

"You're a real skeleton, or rag-doll...or." Cassandra said, staring at me with a pale face, seemingly completely lost for words.

I stared at her confusingly and then looked at Tara, who looked at me and paled, slightly paler than what she was suddenly was. That's when I noticed that I practically towered over them. I am taller than them, but not usually by the height that I found myself looking down at them. I spotted an old dusty mirror on the ground, and making Cassandra hold onto my shirt, I bent WAY over to pick it up and look into it.

It was my face, but it was completely white, with stitches on the sides of my red-painted mouth like I had painted, but that's not scared me the most. The part that scared me the most was that I no longer had _eyes_ in my head. And the fact that I had skeleton hands that held the mirror.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, throwing the mirror away and it bounced over a tombstone before disappearing behind it.

It took a while, but we managed to calm down and accept the fact that we were now what we had dressed up for Halloween. Which meant that I was really a rag-doll/sketelon, Cassandra was a black cat anthro, and Tara was a little vampire for this Halloween.

We were still standing together when I suddenly heard music and this is what all of us heard as we saw the shadows on the graves.

_Boys and Ghouls of every age,_

_Wouldn't you like to see something strange?_

_Come along and you will see,_

_This town of Halloween!_

We quickly walked out the grave-yard's gate and I looked up as ghosts nearly swooped on us and I ducked, making the girls duck as well. The ghosts continued on, singing their part of the Pumpkin Song.

_This is Halloween!_

_This is Halloween!_

_Pumpkins scream in the dead of night!_

Speaking of pumpkins, four landed in front of us and smashed on the ground, making us jump back. Then the ghosts suddenly appeared in front of us again, continuing to sing their part.

_This is Halloween!_

_This is Halloween!_

_Everybody make a scream!_

_Trick-or-treat!_

_Til the neighbor's gonna die of fright!_

_In this Town,_

_Everybody scream!_

_In our town of Halloween..._

We had followed the ghosts as they sang their part and we found ourselves in a bedroom of sorts, and we heard this nasty voice from the under the bed. I lifted up the covers to investigate.

_I'm the one hiding under your bed._

_Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red!_

That being sung, we saw the red eyes and sharp teeth. Cassandra suddenly hissed like a cat seriously ticked off and he disappeared. I let the covers fall back down without a word or a look at Cassandra and we went through a door to find some stairs. As we went down, we heard another voice, this one slightly nicer...

_I am the one hiding under your stairs,_

_Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair._

As the monster sang, he came out to show himself with a friendly smile and we waved with nervous smiles before he ducked under them again. We then proceeded to go out the door into the street and there were four male vampires waiting there for us, ready to sing their part with their strange accents.

_In this town,_

_We call home._

_Everyone hails to the Pumpkin Song!_

With their part finished, they turned into bats and flew off. We continued walking until we found the town square, and there was the Mayor standing on his hearse, waiting to sing his part.

_In this town!_

_Don't we love it now?_

_Everyone's waiting for the next surprise!_

Then he spun his body, his head turning three turn to keep his strange eyes to the front. Then he spotted us for the first time and his head spun around, showing us the anxious/angry side of his head. He looked nervously at us for a moment, looking around with a hand up to his mouth. We stared for a moment, but then ignored him from that point, walking down an alley while he watched us and the music went on.

We heard unseen voices as we walked and I braced myself for the next part.

'_Round that corner,_

_And hiding in the trashcan,_

_Something's waiting out to pounce and how you'll..._

Despite bracing myself, I screamed along with the girls as a strange monster popped out the trashcan singing the word "Scream!" and a werewolf burst through the wall beside the trashcan, making us scream again.

_This is Halloween!_

_Red, black, and..._

A man that looked like he was made out of slimy mud popped out of manhole in front of us and sang.

_Slimy Green!_

The werewolf looked at us, singing the question.

_Aren't you scared?_

All three of us nodded quickly, not wanting any trouble from the other three. Then two witches zoomed past us, singing their part into the night air.

_Well, that's just fine!_

_Say it once, say it twice!_

_Take a chance and roll the dice!_

_Ride with the moon in the dead of night!_

We ran to the town square again and this time a huge oak tree with a face and five skeletons hanging on it came towards us, making us take a few steps backward.

_Everybody scream!_

_EVERYBODY SCREAM!_

We were about to until the skeletons hanging on the tree's branches sang in a nice soft tone...

_In our town of Halloween._

We heard a loud squeaky wheel behind us and we turned to see an ugly clown on a unicycle ride towards us.

_I am the clown with the tear-away face!_

_Here in a flash and gone without a trace!_

True to his word, he vanished in a puff of smoke. A sudden breeze blew through the town square and I heard whispering in the wind.

_I am the who when you call who's there!_

_I am the wind blowing through your hair!_

A suddenly darkness made us look up at the moon and there was a shadow over it, looking like Oogie Boogie's face.

_I am the shadow on the moon at night!_

_Filling your dreams to the brim of fright!_

The shadow turned into bats which flew directly at us, making us duck very low to the ground. Then we heard another squeaking noise and this time when we turned, it was a gate opening and two monsters came through. One was a demon and the other looked like a psychopath with a black top hat and a green coat.

_This is Halloween,_

_This is Halloween!_

_Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!_

We stepped away from them and turned around to see a corpse child and a little mummy standing there behind us.

_Tender lumplings everywhere!_

_Life's no fun without a good scare!_

They made scary faces at us, making the girls step behind me. Then a corpse man and woman came up hastily. They seemed nice and not threatening, so I stayed where I was with the girls behind me.

_That's our job._

_But we're not mean._

_In our town of Halloween!_

They went past us with their children, so we turned around to watch them go and found that everyone that we had seen and some others that we hadn't were in the town square, next to a foundation with a demon statue on it and green water coming from the demon's mouth. The mayor and the monsters proceeded with their holiday, not paying attention to us anymore.

_In this town,_

_Don't we love it now?_

_Everyone's waiting for the next surprise!_

_Didn't they sing that already?_ I wondered as we joined the crowd. A huge man with an axe in his head came into the crowd, pulling a scarecrow on a straw horse behind him. When I saw it, I was sure that it was the same scarecrow that had the sign on it.

_Skeleton Jack is king of the pumpkin patch!_

_Everyone hail to the pumpkin king!_

The scarecrow suddenly grabbed a torch from a monster near my head and as it brought the torch towards itself, I had to duck to avoid my hair catching on fire! As I straightened, I watched as the scarecrow swallowed the torch and standing up, it began to dance around. It swirled once in its dance and suddenly blew fire over the heads of the audience. I heard a couple of monsters cry out in alarm and the scarecrow continued to dance until the straw horse had neared the fountain. The scarecrow then jumped high in the air, flipping forward once before diving into the fountain.

The children that we had seen before ran to the side of the fountain, watching for signs of movement.

_In this town,_

_We call home,_

_Everyone hails to Pumpkin Song!_

A skeleton dressed in a pinstripe suit complete with a bat bowtie suddenly started to rise from the water as though he was a lift and the entire monster audience started chanting while waving their arms in the air, us joining them.

_La, la, la,_

_La, la, la, la, la,_

_La, la, la, la, la,_

_La, la, la, la, la, la, WHEEEEEEE!_

The skeleton was completely out of the water by the time we all yelled whee, and he was waving to the audience, the Mayor beside him and waving as well. And suddenly, it was just...over. I heard several monsters still cheering and some laughing.

"What a night!" I heard this Cyclops monster say nearby as he passed us and I couldn't help but grin at this, the girls grinning as well.

It had been fun, despite the fear and all.

"Oh that was so much fun!" A pretty female voice behind me said.

Confused, since I hadn't seen any young women or monsters the entire time we had been there and I turned around to look.

To my surprise and shock, it was Emily from the movie Corpse Bride, still dressed in her wedding dress, veil and all, minus the bouquet. I didn't get time to wonder why she was here, though, it seemed I didn't time to dwell on anything while we were there.

"Jack! JACK!" I heard the Mayor yell.

I whirled around, and there was the Mayor with his anxious face on again trying to get the skeleton's attention, who was in the middle of a fan circle. I noticed that he kept glancing at us the entire time he was trying to get Jack away from his adoring fans. I thought Jack looked a little gloomy and sad as his fans surrounded him, but I thought it must be a trick of the light.

Why would Jack be sad?

"Why's he looking at us?" Tara asked me, looking up at me and snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Let's find out." I said, and walked over to him, the girls right behind me.

The Mayor didn't notice us coming until I was directly in front of him and when he finally noticed, he jumped about ten feet in the air.

"Excuse me." I said politely as he tried to calm down, "But is there a problem?"

"I'm afraid so." The Mayor told me, looking like he was about to have a nervous break-down right in front of everyone, "We weren't informed that we were going to get any more than one newcomer, and we don't have any place for you three to stay!"

"...Well, we arrived by accident." I told him and he looked mad all of a sudden.

"What do you mean, by ACCIDENT?" The Mayor asked us huffily, "What kind of fool do you take me for?!"

_Does he want me to answer that HONESTLY?_ I wondered as I started to glare at the Mayor.

"Is something wrong, Mayor?" A charming voice asked and turning around, I found myself staring at a bat bowtie being looking up at Jack's face...or skull.

Even though I was much taller as a rag-doll/skeleton, he still towered over me by quite a bit.

"Yes Jack! We weren't expecting more than one newcomer! And there's FOUR of them right here! These three are walking around like they own the place!" The Mayor whined, making himself look like the victim while Jack put his fists on his hips and listened.

"WE ARE NOT!!!" All three of us girls yelled at him, nearly making him fall back into the fountain.

"_Sigh_, Look we came by **accident**." I said to Jack, all three of us girls shooting the Mayor a glare to warn him to shut up, "We'll leave right now if that's what you want."

"As a matter of..." The Mayor started.

"Oh no, no, no, no! You three may stay with me at my house, which that is if you'd like to come." Jack told us, a welcoming grin on his face.

"But, but...Jack!" The Mayor protested.

"We'd love to!" All three of us said in unison, just to irk the Mayor.

"Great!" Jack said gleefully, spreading his arms out, "Let's go get you four settled in."

We stared at him in confusion for a moment. I even pointed to all of us one at a time, counting three for him.

"OH! Emily agreed to stay at my house as well before Halloween started, just until she can get her own house like you three." Jack quickly explaining as the infamous Corpse Bride came up to us.

"Hello." She said, taking the hand that I had held out to her in greeting and shaking it.

"Hello to you too." I replied with a smile.

Emily then shook Cassandra and Tara's hands, with them smiling up at her. Jack then gestured for us to follow him, the girls going in front of me to follow right behind Jack, Emily standing by my side as we also followed.

"Such adorable little children, are they yours?" Emily asked me.

I couldn't help but give her a startled look before laughing lightly, my eyes turning to the mentioned girls in front of me.

"No, the cat girl directly in front of me is my little sister, Cassandra." I told Emily, "And the other one is Tara, our adopted sister and friend. I'm not married or anything."

"Neither am I." Emily said, sounding sad and I knew why.

I had watched Corpse Bride so many times that I could probably recite word for word. And I was always sad for Emily when she let Victor go, even though I knew she was doing the right thing. And I _had_ wondered where Emily had gone after she turned into butterflies and they had flown off.

I guess I knew now.

"Your dress is pretty." I told her, hoping to get her mind on something else.

"Oh! Thank you, I like your outfit too." Emily said, cheering up immediately.

"TIFF! WATCH OUT!" I heard Cassandra yell and I had a glimpse of something gray before I was plowed over!

I landed on my back, dazed for a moment and when I got over that, I saw that a gray ghost cat was sitting on my chest and it was purring at me. It didn't look anything like the ghost dog Zero, it looked like it was still alive except that it had glowing yellow eyes and you could see through it.

"Oh how cute!" Emily said, kneeling down next to me as I stared at the ghost cat, "She seems to know you!"

We all just stared at the purring ghost cat, and Cassandra's expression was thoughtful while looking at the ghost cat for a moment before own her face lit up.

"Burrs?" Cassandra suddenly said to the cat.

"Merow!" The ghost cat replied and turning around, she floated into Cassandra's arms, allowing me to get up and my little sister to pet her.

"Burrs!" I cooed, also petting her on the head and making her purr louder, "Burrs."

"Two ghost cats followed me here, come to think of it," Emily told us, also petting Burrs with the rest of us, "Is she yours?"

"She was ours...before she left us." I replied, continuing to pet the beloved cat ghost in Cassandra's arms.

**It's true, we had a black/orange cat named Burrs. Sweetest little thing on Earth and she would let you hold her anytime you wanted, she never struggled even once to get out of our arms. She acted like a comforter, a friend, and a sister, all with nuzzling and snuggling up. She even acted like a mother to an abandoned kitten that I brought home, let him nurse and everything. When the kitten got big even to take care of himself, she left one day, and never came back. We don't know what happened to her.**

**We miss you Burrs, you sweet little kitty.**

I was thrilled to have Burrs back, even though she was a ghost, and Cassandra was cuddling the purring ghost kitty.

"Burrs! Burrs." Cassandra cooed and Burrs began to lick her cheek, "Awwww! I missed you too Burrs!"

"This is nice to see, a reunion of friends long separated." Jack said, standing over Cassandra.

All of us jumped, we had forgotten that the Pumpkin King was with us for a moment. And then Tara was plowed over! Her cape went flying in the air as she went down with a THUMP!

"What the!" I yelped, all of us running over to Tara.

"Hershey!" Tara was giggling as ANOTHER ghost cat was on her chest.

This one was white with glowing green eyes and purring like there was no tomorrow as Tara was hugging and petting it.

"Hershey?" I questioned, staring at the ghost cat that was purring even louder than Burrs had been.

"My calico kitty Hershey!" Tara told me, getting up, but still holding onto the ghost cat.

I couldn't help but groan, making everyone look at me funny.

"What's going to plow WHO over next?" I asked, looking around and watching out for anything else and then asked Emily, "Is this the other ghost cat that followed you?"

"Yes, that's what I was going to say." Emily confirmed, petting Hershey.

"This is just such a good day." I heard Jack say and I smiled in agreement.

We continued walking and we reached Jack's house without anyone else getting plowed over by some pet that they had lost a while ago. I kept an eye...or socket out for anything else anyway, letting Cassandra give Burrs all the petting. Jack seemed very amused by my cautious behavior, because he kept looking back at me and grinning like he had heard the best joke of his life. I caught him doing that while I was looking around, so when he did it again, I made a scary face at him and he made one back, making me cringe. That's alright though, considering that's his job in the first place.

Jack's house is very big, despite what we see in the movie and it also has an ability that is very cool...it can make itself have more rooms and anything we needed, like clothes, shoes, food, and the rest we got whenever we wanted.

"How much would you sell your house for, Jack?" I asked/joked Jack.

"Nothing will ever make him sell this house, I'm afraid Tiff." Jack replied, a good-humored grin on his face.

Emily made supper that night, with the girls and I helping her, and Jack seemed to really light up at some company in his house. However, I didn't see the one rag-doll I thought should have been there.

Where was Sally?

There was absolutely no sign of her, not even a hair, and after I finished supper and excused myself, I wandered around the house, looking for her. I finally went upstairs and found pictures of Jack and her on the mantel upstairs, even a marriage photo of Sally in a really cool Halloween bride's dress. I smiled at that, but then I found something at the end that swept that happy smile right off my face.

It was a funeral biography of Sally in a glass frame.

I looked towards the stairs and listened to the noises downstairs to make sure that Jack wasn't going to come up. Hearing nothing that hinted that he was coming up, I reached over and picked it up, several cobwebs pulling on it before breaking gently off. I began to read and here's what it said...

_Sally Skellington_

_Beloved Wife and would-be Mother_

_This wonderful woman was made in the laboratory of Dr. Finklestein, and according to the doctor, she had been hopelessly restless and refused to stay inside his home, saying that she needed to be outside. Other than that, she was a sweet girl and that he had always thought of her like a daughter, despite what he may have said about her in the past._

_Sally was very kind and very skilled in what little skills she had. And once, she showed great feats of bravery when the villain Oogie Boogie had Sandy Claws in his grasp, and she attempted to rescue him, getting captured herself and nearly eaten by the Bug King along with Sandy Claws._

_When she got rescued by Jack and the Mayor _(Insert rolled eyes here)_, Jack proposed that very night and she accepted._

_They married on one Halloween night before the scaring began and they lived happily together for two years, and they were expecting a child in the second year of their marriage._

_According to Jack, they had been in Christmas town celebrating Sally's pregnancy when the incident happened. They had been walking on the Candy-cane Bridge when one of the planks suddenly broke under Sally and she fell into the water. She sank, unable to swim, and Jack had screamed for help before diving in with her. He had dove and searched but he couldn't find her, she had sank too deep very quickly. By the time help had arrived, Jack had nearly frozen and Sally was gone..._

_The elf police in Christmas Town investigated the bridge and found that the boards that had broken under Sally had been sawed so that they would break when someone stepped on them. Either this was a prank of the local elf teenagers or an attempt on Jack's life was never discovered._

_Sally's body was never found and she will be missed, along with her unborn child._

_God bless your soul, Sally Skellington_

_We will miss you._

As you can imagine, tears were rolling down my face as I read the 'incident' part of the story, Sally had been one of my favorite characters and I couldn't imagine WHY on earth or in heaven this had happened to her.

_Sally was with child, it's so unfair that she died!_ My thoughts yelled as I wiped tears from my face and put the framed biography down where it had been.

"Tiffany?" Jack's voice suddenly came from the stairs.

My body froze with fear at the thought of him seeing me up here next to the mantel, and so I rushed to the windows as quickly and quietly as I could manage, but before I got there...

WHAM!!!

I was plowed over again!

Instead of Burrs or Hershey, it was a ghost dog with a jack-o-lantern for a nose and he was licking my face like there was no tomorrow. I allowed him to while I was dazed, seeing how I couldn't react anyway, and plus he was getting all the salt off my face and then Jack would never know I had been crying.

I was giggling like a twit as Jack came upstairs, and smiled at the sight of the dog giving my face a good licking as I petted him.

"I see you met Zero." Jack said as he came over and helped me up.

"I got kisses!" I told him, still kinda dazed as I was hauled onto my feet.

Hey, I had gotten plowed over twice by a ghost pet of some sort, it's not good for the head!

"So I saw!" Jack said laughing as I shook my head hard to get some sense back, and then he became somewhat serious, "What you doing up here?"

"I got bored and I was walking around." I said truthfully, leaving Sally's funeral biography out of this.

At the word 'bored', Jack looked as though he had just gotten an idea.

"I have a favor to ask you if you're bored." Jack said, a somewhat evil grin on his face.

I must have looked scared, because he started laughing again.

"It's nothing dangerous." He assured me, "In fact, it would help me a lot...if you're interested, that is."

I looked him in the face, eager to hear his idea and get away from the upstairs.

"I'm interested!" I told him.

"Before I tell you, though, I have only one question." Jack told me, and I leaned the side of my face closer to him to show I was listening, "Do you like reindeer?"

I blinked at the question as I pulled back, trying to figure out why he was asking that.

"I like animals, if that what you're asking." I told him.

"Great, would you mind exercising my reindeer?" Jack asked while he grinned his biggest grin.

I just stood there in confusion, and it showed on my face as clear as day.

**It always does and Mom gets a big kick out of it. Just laughs her butt off!**

"You exercise them by riding them." Jack explained and he was holding back a laugh, like he found my 'duh' expression very funny.

I gave him a mock glare before giving the thought of riding a thought. Jack waited patiently while Zero floated near his head.

"Where are they at?" I asked Jack.

_Not much later, not much at all..._

"Jack said we could do what?" Cassandra asked as we went down the stairs and to the stables.

"Ride his reindeer, in fact, he said it would help him." I repeated as I opened the doors and I poked my head in, "He also said that we could name them, he never got around to it since they haven't been exercised for a while, but he kept them in mind the entire time."

"Are they nice reindeer?" Tara suddenly asked, looking in from behind me.

Three skeleton reindeer stood in stalls, and they turned their heads when I opened the doors. I could see bridles and saddles without stirrups on the fronts of their stalls, ready to put on and go.

"One way to find out." I replied, going towards the first one I saw, "Pick a reindeer."

I picked up the bridle on his stall door and slowly opened it, ready to jump back if he tried to bite or anything. He did nothing, just stood there, waiting and watching me with those empty sockets, grinning his usual skeleton grin. I slowly approached, and slid the bridle on his skull carefully, ready to draw back my hands if he so much as moved. He still didn't do anything, not even after I touched him and feeling a little more confident, I picked up the saddle and started towards his back. He still didn't do anything as I stood by his side, just watched me with his head slightly turned until I strapped on the saddle and then he started nuzzling my shoulder. I looked at him in surprise and not knowing what else to do, I scratched the top of his skull. He let me do that and then he shook his skull, the jaw opening to make it look like a big, happy smile.

I laughed at this display of enjoyment and then took the bridle by the reins and led him out. The girls had figured out how to saddle and bridle right after I got finished with mine and they were leading theirs out after me.

The reindeer were pretty well-behaved and they followed nicely after you, but how they dealt with people on their backs I had yet to find out.

"I'll name you...Ivory." I told my reindeer as I stepped to his side, earning another big happy grin as he shook his head in agreement.

"Mine's Angel-wing!" Cassandra told me and I couldn't help but think that was predictable, she's always trying to think of unique names for animals or people.

"I named mine Snowball!" Tara told us, earning a strange look from both Cassandra and I and we kept giving her that look for a long time, "What?"

I almost gulped as I faced Ivory's back again and I took a deep breath before hoisting myself onto him, and he stood completely still while I got myself situated on his saddle. I picked up the reins and looked behind me to see how the girls were doing. Cassandra got on Angel-wing without problems, but Tara on the other hand...she got on Snowball (poor reindeer), but she fell off the other side!

Cassandra started laughing pretty hard and I wasn't too far behind as I bit my lip as Tara got back up and dusted herself off.

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" Tara yelled at us, trying again and this time managing to stay on, but facing the wrong end.

This was too much and I burst out laughing, nearly falling off Ivory and Cassandra was leaning forward on Angel-wing as Jack decided to come down.

"What's so funny?" He asked smiling, looking at me.

Unable to stop, I just pointed at the pouting Tara sitting backwards on the reindeer and Jack arched a socket at me as he walked towards Tara, probably wondering why this was so funny. He picked Tara up easily and turned her around, setting her down properly on Snowball's saddle. Tara then eagerly picked up the reins as Cassandra and I managed to calm down.

"Okay, let's go." I said, giving Ivory a light kick.

"I should mention something..." Jack started, but Ivory suddenly took off running, making me hold on tight and I heard Jack yell, "THEY CAN FLY!!!"

As I looked down, I found that Ivory had decided to start flying and here's what my reaction was...

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" I let out a scream that a banshee would have been envious of.

The girls had a completely different reaction though.

"WHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" They howled in joy, hanging on tight as Angel-wing and Snowball flew after Ivory.

I held on as hard as I could for a long, long time before finally bringing myself to relax and taking up the reins, I made him go faster. The girls followed suit and then the fun began. We dove in and out of clouds, around them and we played reindeer tag, with me being IT most of the time.

During the game of tag, I noticed that we were right above Halloween Town and I could see the Mayor going about his business. An evil grin crossed my face as a wicked idea formed in my mind as I snapped my fingers, and I waved the girls over.

"What?" Cassandra asked as they flew over.

I just pointed below us, right at the Mayor.

"So?" Tara said, looking back up at me.

I put the reins down as I leaned my elbow on my knee and my chin leaned on my fist.

"Remember what he said about us today?" I asked, my evil grin coming again.

They both nodded and looked down at him, and then Cassandra whipped her head into my direction again.

"Are we going to get him back for it?!" Cassandra asked quickly in one breath.

I just nodded, my evil grin still on my face and after the girls had gotten excited about pranking the Mayor, I suddenly had Ivory do a sky dive towards the town, the girls were caught by surprise before they followed suit.

I pulled Ivory out of the dive long before we were near the town, making him land on a rooftop and I watched the Mayor while hearing the other two land behind me.

All three of the reindeer seemed to know what we were going to do, they twitched and fidgeted like they wanted to get some action. I held back the urge to laugh evilly as I watched the Mayor order some monsters around as they busily prepared for the next Halloween, while the Mayor himself did nothing but order people around and check stuff off a list.

I swear, he was completely useless and helpless! Jack had to do all the thinking for him and everybody else had to do the work while he complained and barked orders...

"It's about time someone put him in his place." I said to the girls without turning around, "And we are just the ones for the job!"

I couldn't see them, but I knew that they agreed and I started explaining about what we were going to do with the Mayor before Boogie's Boys did something to him before we even started!

The Mayor was humming the Pumpkin Song to himself as I floated above him while I leaned over Ivory's side, and I carefully took his hat off his head before flying off with it. It was a full minute before he realized that it was gone and his stupid worried face came on as he looked for it.

"Oh man, I can't be Mayor without my hat!" He whined, loud even for anyone who cared could hear.

Believe me when I say, no one cared and went about their business.

Cassandra finished tying a really long thread that she had borrowed from a spider web onto the Mayor's hat, before placing it in front of his hearse and flew back up to the rooftop with us, waiting for him to see it. He FINALLY turned around after much looking and whining at the top of his lungs to see his beloved hat on the ground behind him.

"Oh silly me, it must have dropped off my head and slid there!" The gullible two-faced idiot said as his happy face came back on and he toddled towards it, one hand outstretched.

As soon as he got near it, Cassandra started pulling on the thread and it suddenly 'jumped' away from the Mayor.

"Huh?!" He yelled, his worried face back and went towards it again only to have it move away again, "Hey!"

He started running after it as we flew around and over the town square, Cassandra holding the thread tight as we struggled to keep in our laughter. The fun, unfortunely, didn't last long as the thread suddenly snapped.

"Oh crap!" All of us said in unison as the hat suddenly stopped, but we got a good comedy scene as the Mayor, who was still running at high speed, tripped over the hat, yelling as he went down.

The entire town saw this and burst out laughing, allowing us to laugh without blowing our cover in the air. Even the reindeer were laughing at the stupidity of it all!

And you know you're pathetic if animals are laughing at you.

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH!!!" The Mayor roared as he picked up his hat and put it on, trying to regain his dignity that had been gone for only the Lord knows how long and then he looked around the town square, "WHERE ARE THOSE LITTLE BRATS?!!!"

"Boogie's Boys haven't been in town ever since Jack gave Christmas back to Sandy Claws." The fish-creature told him, still laughing.

"Well, whoever did it isn't going to make a fool out of me again!" The Mayor huffed as everyone calmed down and went back to what they were doing.

"Oh really?" I said, and then looked at the girls while saying, "Watch me and try to copy, this'll scare him good! Oh, and do the scariest monster thing that you can think of!"

I made my reindeer dive again, this time pulling out of the dive as soon we were almost hitting the ground and Ivory suddenly started running towards the Mayor with his antlers lowered. The Mayor whirled around at the sound of galloping hoofs and I waited until I saw the whites of his eyes before unleashing my newly learned banshee shriek, letting go of the reins to hold my hands in a clawed position near my head.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed as he stood there with eyes tight shut, trembling, and frozen as I grabbed the reins and pulled Ivory up at the last minute.

I looked down at the Mayor as he continued to shake and when I was safely in the sky, I pointed at Cassandra, silently yelling "YOUR TURN!!!"

Cassandra obeyed, waiting for him to calm down before charging him in another direction and letting out the scariest cat yowl I have ever heard! It made me jerk from the volume and chills ran down my spine. As Cassandra pulled up and joined me, I gave her a high five and we both pointed at Tara, who did the same as Cassandra. Her vampire howl was something I'd never forget and it was frightening, which was what we wanted.

The Mayor apparently had enough, because he ran screaming to his hearse and drove like a maniac out of town. You could still hear him scream as he disappeared.

We all started laughing, our putting-the-Mayor-in-his-place-plan had been successful. And then we heard the last thing in the world we expected to hear.

Applause.

We immediately stopped laughing and looked down to see the entire town in the town square, looking up at us and applauding us like there was no tomorrow. We looked at each other in surprise before looking down again, this time seeing Jack on the fountain.

"HEY! Come down and take a bow! That scare was well done!" Jack yelled up at us with his hands cupped around his mouth.

I looked at the girls and they shrugged, showing that I had to make the decision.

"Let's go." I told them and we all flew down, the crowd parting so that we could land. We dismounted the reindeer and ran up to the fountain with the reindeer following on their own, jumping on to stand with Jack. We girls joined hands and bowed, while the reindeer lined up and bowed their heads. The crowd went mad with applause, whistles, and even dead flowers were thrown at us!

"Thanks, thank you!" I said, ducking whenever I saw a dead flower coming at my head, and shaking the hands of the monsters that came up.

"Tiff!" I heard Emily and I turned around, watching her join us on the fountain, "I saw the scare you did, that was fantastic!"

"Well, I can't take all the credit, Jack provided the reindeer, and the girls did it with me!" I told her, slightly embarrassed by all the attention we were getting.

"Oh Jack, you're just as gloriously scary as ever!" I heard this behind me and I turned around to see the witches, the fish creature, and even Dr. Finklestein's Jewel flirting with Jack and the poor skeleton was backing up, "You're still the ghoul of this town! We all still think highly of you and always will!"

_Somebody's going to be maaaaaaaad!_ I thought as I watched the female version of Dr. Finklestein try and hug Jack.

Still, as funny as it was, I decided to help out Jack a little bit.

"HEY LOOK!!! ISN'T THAT COUNT DRACULA GOING AROUND THE CORNER OVER THERE?!" I bellowed, pointing in the opposite direction of Jack.

All the girls (except Emily) gave a fan-girl squeal and charged off in that direction, leaving Jack alone to join us again at the fountain. All the other monsters went off, still laughing and one gave us a final whistle. I waved at him and then watched Jack as he came closer.

"Thank you." Jack told me wearily, setting himself down beside me.

"Anytime." I told him, sitting down also.

"So, did you name the reindeer?" Jack asked, looking at the mentioned skeleton animals that were standing in front of us.

"Yeah, Ivory, Angel-wing, and Snowball." I told him, each one of the named reindeer taking a step forward.

Jack and Emily suddenly started giggling, making the rest of us look at him strangely.

"Snowball?" Jack asked while still giggling, "Who named him that?"

Both Cassandra and I pointed at Tara without a word.

"What?" Tara asked, looking at us.

"That is so cute!" Emily said, still giggling along with Jack.

They were giggling so hard that I thought for sure they would have died of laughter by now...that is if they hadn't been dead already.

Emily suddenly fell onto Jack's lap, and the two stared at each other for a long time. I was surprised with how they looked at each other, Emily with a look of admiration, and Jack...

Jack suddenly helped Emily up rather roughly, making her look in surprise and hurt at Jack, while he stood up hastily.

"I'm sorry, Emily...it's just...that..."Jack started, but then he just shrugged and walked off on his own, probably to the cemetery.

We all watched him until he was gone and Emily turned to us, looking very unsure of whether to be sad or embarrassed.

"Did I...do something wrong?" Emily asked us, looking at me though.

"No..." I replied, looking at where Jack had disappeared, "He's just...still hurting."

"What do you mean, Tiff?" Emily asked, looking confused.

The girls walked around, standing directly in front of me while looking up at my face, looking like they also wanted to know. I sighed while closing my eyes before walking around the girls and joining Emily on the fountain, plopping myself down wearily. The girls then sat beside me and I took a breath while scratching my head before I started explaining what I had found upstairs in Jack's house. I started crying again as I described what I had read about Sally's death and when I finally finished, Emily and the girls were crying with me.

"That's...that's awful!" Emily said, covering her face with her hands, "Poor Jack!"

"Yes it is awful, that's why we're not going to say anything to him." I said to her firmly, wiping my tears away.

"What? But...why?" Emily asked, taking her hands away from her face.

"Because if he finds out that I read Sally's funeral biography without his permission and I told you girls what I found out, he's going to get mad or worse." I pointed out, "Not to mention it would probably open old wounds that don't need to be opened. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Emily replied, nodding.

I looked at the girls and they also nodded, showing that they also agreed to keep quiet about Sally's death. We all took the reindeer back to Jack's house and their stalls, which had the reindeer's new names carved into the wood, and we said goodnight to one another as we went to bed.

The next day, we found Jack downstairs, working with the Mayor who cringed at the sight of the girls and I. We said good morning to Jack before we ran outside laughing at the memory of what had happened yesterday, Emily following us with her lovely laughter. After we were done dying of laughter (figure of speech), Emily asked if we wanted to go shopping with her.

"We would love to, Emily, but we don't have any money with us." I told her and a bag of money dropped on my head, "OW!"

"Sorry!" I heard the Mayor's voice from above, and all of us looked up to see his worried face looking down at us from a window.

I could see Jack cotrying not to laugh, and I let him know I could see him!

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY, JACK!" I called up to him, "DON'T MAKE ME COME BACK UP THERE!"

Jack poked his head out with the Mayor's and stuck his tongue out at me, making me growl mock-angrily up at him. I then looked at the Mayor and held up the bag of money that he had dropped on me.

"What's this for?" I asked him, wondering if he was trying to be nice or...

"Consider that...a peace offering!" The Mayor told me before he retreated back into Jack's house.

"Oh...! A peace offering!" I said slyly, opening up the bag to see how much was in there.

"How much is there?" Emily asked, trying to look with me.

"I'm not sure, I'm not familiar with Halloween money." I told her honestly.

"Here, let me take a look." Emily offered, and I let her have the bag.


	2. Chapter 2

CrusaderTransformer1: Sorry about the long wait guys, I had some computer problems and then I'm kinda occupied with my new deviantart account too. Cassandra, will you do the disclaimer?

Cassandra: My sister does not own Nightmare Before Christmas or the company, and she never will.

CrusaderTransformer1: Okay thanks...

Cassandra: She also does not own me or Tara, we own ourselves. She only owns herself and her crazy ideas.

CrusaderTransformer1: Okay...thanks Cassandra...

Cassandra: She also owes us a box of Nerds, but I don't think that she'll...

CrusaderTransformer1: ENOUGH! Chases a giggling Cassandra out

After Emily took one look into the bag, her eyes widened so big that the eye that always falls out...fell out. I caught it before it fell on the ground and handed it back.

"Thank you," Emily said as she took back her eye, "But I have to say, I think he really, really doesn't want you to scare him anymore."

"What do you mean?" I asked and then added while pouting while folding my arms across my chest, "And why not?"

Emily giggled loudly at what I was doing and I dropped both pout and arms.

"Oh Tiffany...you are so funny." Emily told me after she was done, "And there's quite a lot of money in here. I think I see hundred dollar bills in this bag."

"WHAT?" All of us said in unison.

"That's what I see in this bag." Emily told us as she handed the bag back to me and put her eye back in its place.

The girls and I couldn't help but stare at one another as we thought this over.

"So...by scaring the Mayor we did more than put him in his place, huh?" I commented, looking at the bag in my hands.

"You certainly did." Emily replied, chuckling a little bit, probably thinking of what we had done yesterday.

"I'd say! We're rich!" Cassandra said, trying to take the bag from me, but I held it out of her reach out of pure irritation, "Come on, Tiff! I wanna see!"

"You will have your fair share." I told her, getting kind of grouchy by the childish way she was acting that day, "Just chill out!"

"So, do you want to go shopping now?" Emily asked me, looking like she didn't like the sight of us fighting.

"Yes, let's." I said as we started walking to town, and I added over my shoulder, "You get some of this money too."

"What? I couldn't possibly..." Emily began, showing her English elegant nature.

"You're shopping with us, therefore it's only decent." I insisted.

Cassandra and Tara nodded quickly, showing their support of what I had said. Emily didn't argue anymore, already seeing that I wasn't going to take no for an answer and she had a slight smile on her face as we walked side-by-side, the girls ahead of us.

"So, what did you have in mind for shopping, today?" I asked her as we walked at an easy pace.

"I was thinking of getting some new clothes," Emily told me, "I'm kind of tired of wearing this old thing all the time."

"I think it's a pretty gown." I told her honestly, and it was, despite it being slightly dirty and torn.

"Thank you, but I think everyone likes a change of pace now and then." Emily pointed out.

"That's very true." I replied, thinking back to the times when movie/game adventures didn't pop up on us and how bored we had been.

I had been dying and wishing for a change of pace and we got that change of pace in our first two adventures in the Labyrinth. (I wrote those when I was twelve, and I may redo them and put them on here)

I was still thinking about how we had to face the Goblin King Jareth in all of his glittery fury when Emily broke me out of my thoughts with this comment.

"I would really like an outfit like yours." Emily surprised me, making me look her in surprise, "I always thought that you and your sisters looked so comfortable in them. I never did like dresses, anyway."

"Maybe we'll find something like them." I said, but in the back of my mind, I seriously doubted it considering where we were.

I suddenly felt something like a light sheet on my head and I also felt purring as a gray see-through tail was tickling my neck.

"Burrs!" I said in a slightly teasing tone, hearing the lovable cat ghost purr louder on my head.

Emily giggled before reaching up to pet Burrs, and I slightly bent over so that she could do so without having to stand on her tip-toes.

"Hershey!" I heard Tara from up ahead and I reached up my hands to pluck Burrs off my head.

"She seems to truly love you and your sisters." Emily commented and I grinned as I handed Burrs to her.

The minute Burrs was settled in Emily's arms, she began to sniff the Corpse Bride on the cheek and after she did, she began to lick Emily's cheek.

"Awwwww! She likes you!" I said to the now happy Emily who was hugging Burrs.

All of a sudden, I noticed that there were three children circling us, eyeing Emily in particular. I recognized them as Lock, Shock, and Barrel and I felt a dangerous chill going down my spine as I eyed them as they circled us. Emily didn't seem to feel the same way as she continued to be her elegant self.

"Hello." She said to them, and Burrs squirmed out of her arms to float quickly to me, growling slightly as she came into my arms.

"Hello." They replied to her, eyeing her up and down before doing the same to me.

"Hi." I said, letting them know with my expression that I didn't want them near me.

Emily didn't see my get-the-heck-away-from-us expression, but I know that the trio did and they went away without a word or even a look, passing Cassandra and Tara who in turn looked at them in surprise and then back at us before stopping to wait on us.

"They were nice." Emily said to me, continuing the walk.

_I'm not so sure, even with Oogie Boogie being only a bad memory now._ I thought, Burrs calming down since the three were gone and I began to walk again.

"Where are their parents, do you think?" Emily continued, pausing a little so that I could catch up.

"I don't think they HAVE parents." I told her, not feeling bad at all for the Boogie's Boys.

They give us brats a bad name and that's saying something!

"Oh, well that's too bad...do you know who's taking care of them?" Emily asked, showing concern for them, and if only she had known...

"I don't if anyone is taking care of them." I said carelessly, mentally pitying whoever would take care of them.

Emily started moving quickly like she was going to go running after them and mentally kicking myself, I stopped her with an arm.

"I'm sure that somebody is taking care of them, Emily, and I meant to say that I didn't know who is taking care of them." I told her, and that seemed to satisfy her as the girls continued to wait until we reached them before starting to walk again. Burrs and Hershey flew back to the house, probably not wanting to wait outside the shop for us, seeing how there were no-pets-allowed-signs were in almost every single window in town.

We didn't talk much more after that, having nothing else to say I suppose, and after walking around Halloween Town, we found a promising-looking clothes store called Death Diamonds. The two witches, we had seen during the Halloween that we had arrived to, owned that shop plus another called Witches' Shop (typical), and they greeted us while they stirred a bubbling green liquid in a large black caldron that was behind the desk with the cash register. As we walked around, I was shocked to find that they did have clothes like ours, ripped pants and all!

_Well, Emily going to get the kind of clothes she wants after all!_ I thought as I watched the mentioned Corpse Bride go over to them and start looking through them, the skeleton hand I could see as she pushed clothes aside to see what else she could find.

The girls were going over to some sparkly clothes (typical), I myself went over to some dresses that looking like they would be suitable for a special occasion that was probably coming our way. I went through about ten dresses before I found one that I liked and pulled it out.

It was a black dress that looked like some Mortisha Addams would wear, it even had the same style, and instead of being just black, it had a dark-gray glittery belt and on that belt was a couple of metal black widows, silver webs hanging from them to dangle around the skirt in a cool, mysterious way.

I looked for the changing room before finally finding it behind a skull door and after going in and locking the door, I changed into the dress. It turned out that the dress fit me like a glove and I went out to show Emily.

"Hey Emily!" I said as I found her, still at the clothes where she had been before, "What do you think of this dress?"

Emily turned around to look at me and as she opened her mouth while smiling, someone else answered for her.

"Wow." I heard someone say behind me and I turned so that I could look over my shoulder at the speaker.

There was a tall male skeleton at the door, and I would have mistaken him for Jack if it hadn't have been for the nearly shoulder-length black hair on his skull. He was nearly as tall as Jack and his attire consisted of a black T-shirt, black leather pants and jacket, complete with black boots.

As I stared at the stranger, he gave a charming grin at me and wolf-whistled while he was at it.

"You look hot, babe." He told me, and I was surprised to hear a voice almost completely identical to Jack's, only a little deeper.

Although I was flattered, I was also a little...okay, more than a little wary of the fact that a complete stranger was calling me babe, like I was his girlfriend at first sight.

"Thank you, but no one asked your opinion." I told him and I walked away to the changing room, feeling a little proud of myself as I had caught the stranger's look of shock as I left.

I didn't know Emily had followed me with some clothes she had picked out until she spoke, nearly making me jump right out of the dress and through the roof.

"That wasn't very nice, Tiff." Emily said and after I had jumped, "He was nice enough to give you a compliment."

"Yes Emily, but that's not the point." I said to her as I closed the door, gently so that she didn't think I was mad at her or anything, "But he called me babe, and that's something guys call their girlfriends."

"Girlfriend? If he wants to be your friend, why not let him?" Emily asked and I resisted the urge to slap my forehead in frustration.

"Emily, a girlfriend is not just a friend unless said otherwise, it's a relationship where a guy and a girl are..." I paused, not sure how to explain something I was so used to when the other was completely obvious to its meaning.

"It's what?" Emily asked patiently from the other side of the door.

"Give me a second." I said before adding, "Please."

There was a long pause as I stood there, scratching my skull and trying to think of a way to explain this in a way that Emily would understand. I was pretty sure that smoke was coming out of my ears as I FINALLY came up with a way to explain boyfriend/girlfriend relationships.

"Okay! You remember how some men in your lifetime would court a woman that they wanted to be their wife?" I asked.

"Yes." Came the answer.

"Well, boyfriend and girlfriend relationships are like that in a lot of ways, but in some ways, it's completely different." I said, "Here's an example, only ONE man can court a woman in this kind of relationship, and this kind of couple..."

"OH! Boyfriend and girlfriends are couples!" Emily exclaimed from the other side, and I just stood there, both relieved and surprised that my explanation wasn't needed after all, "Why didn't you say so?"

"I didn't know how to explain this to you." I admitted and I could feel my cheeks warming as I changed into my clothes.

"I see...oh, now I understand why you weren't very nice to him." Emily said kind of sheepishly from the other side.

"Hey, don't worry about it." I told her, now fully dressed and putting the dress on the skeleton hanger that it was on, "You didn't understand and now you do. It's not a big deal."

"If you say so." Emily said and I came out, allowing her to go into the dressing room.

As I left the skull door closing on its own, I looked for the girls to see what they were doing and found to my displeasure that the stranger from before was still around.

"Hi again, babe." He said from behind me and I held back both feelings of attraction and irritation as I turned around only to find that he had leaned down so that our faces were close...too close.

"Get...out...of...my...face." I said slowly as I backed away, and he followed as though he was a dog on a leash, our faces still close.

"Please don't play hard-to-get, babe, how about we do something crazy together?" He asked smoothly as he followed me and this time I got mad, but before I could say or do anything, someone beat me to it.

"DUKE! LEAVE HER ALONE BEFORE I CAST A HEX ON YOU!!" The big witch yelled, her high-pitched voice making my ears hurt as she shook a fist at him, her sister glaring at him beside her.

The stranger now known to me as Duke ran out of the store like she was chanting her hex on him already and I laughed hard as he fled. I wiped tears away as I finished laughing and I turned to the now-calm witches.

"Thanks a lot." I said, "Who was that, by the way?"

"That was just Jack's nephew, Duke Reaper." The big witch said, just waving it off, "He's always flirting shamelessly with the local girls and hanging around his two troublesome friends."

"Reaper? As in...the Grim Reaper?" I asked, feeling slightly scared that I had just been smarting off to the son of the Bringer of Death.

"Yes, but he's not a Grim Reaper yet and probably won't ever be." The big witch replied, rolling her eyes at the subject, "That responsibility's going to fall on his younger brother, Howl, I just know it."

"Is Howl like his big brother?" I asked, but pretty sure that I was going to hear the opposite.

"Oh no, Howl is a complete gentleman, unlike his brother." The little witch replied, "A lot more mature too, and he follows in the Grim Reaper's footsteps, therefore Howl more than likely will be the next Grim Reaper. As far as we've heard, Duke couldn't care less that his birthright is going to be given to the next of kin."

"Maybe he just likes being his own person?" I suggested, feeling some need to defend him a little bit, thinking that the witches were being a little hard on him.

"That could be it...at least he has a job and not spending his family's entire fortune." The little witch said, looking at her sister as she spoke, probably talking more to her sister than me.

"He may have a good job and a home of his own, but he still acts like a punk teenager, friends and all." The big witch replied.

"The dude needs a girlfriend." I said out of the blue and ending up getting a strange look from both witches.

It was a short uncomfortable silence before one of them decided to say something.

"Are you volunteering for the part? Hmmmmm?" The big witch asked in a teasing way.

"...No, I was just saying." I said in defense, trying to stay calm so that they didn't think otherwise.

"If you say so, by the way, I think your friend in there needs some help." The big witch said, pointing at the skull door with her thumb.

I put the dress onto a chair that was nearby and walked quickly to the dressing room, wondering what kind of trouble Emily managed to get in while I was talking to the witches.

As I entered, I could hear Emily making sounds of frustration from behind the door. I paused to listen to the sounds before walking closer to the door and stopping in front of it.

"Need help?" I asked, leaning towards the door so that I could hear better.

"Oh no...no I'm fine." Emily said, but I could hear the uncertainty even from behind the door.

I waited a little more and after a little bit of silence I heard another noise of frustration.

"Are you lying?" I asked, and this time I heard a sigh.

"Yes." Came the answer and I slowly opened the door and went inside.

Emily stood there in the orange pants while she was messing with a black shirt that seemed to keep catching on her dirty and lacey corset.

"Oh...!" Emily said angrily as she tried to pull it over again, only to have it catch again and she got the shirt free before asking me, "How do you get this kind of shirt over your corset?"

I was silent for a bit, just looking at her funny.

"What? What is it?" Emily asked, looking kind of hurt at my expression.

"Well...sweetie. We...don't wear corsets." I finally blurted out, blushing slightly at my own words.

"What?" Emily asked, looking amazed.

"Women from the time where the girls and I come from...don't wear them and...I haven't seen anybody else that look like they wear them, so I don't think you have to either." I said, inwardly bracing myself for what I was sure a lecture from Emily about how improper it was for a lady to not wear a corset.

Instead, here's the reaction I got.

"OH THANK GOODNESS!! I've always hated these things!" Emily said excitingly and I was stunned as she put her shirt down before she started to try and take the corset off herself. I snapped out of it as she untied her corset bow and started to loosen the strings.

"AH! Nonononono! Let me help." I said as I came behind her and started to slowly loosen the corset strings a little at a time, having heard once that if you loosen these things too quickly, it would hurt the woman.

I've heard beauty is pain, but COME ON! THAT'S RIDICULOUS!

As it was finally loose enough to pull off, Emily took a big breath and I smiled.

"Can you breathe now?" I asked as I helped Emily slid the corset off, a strap-less undershirt of some kind still on Emily's chest. (Take that, perverts! XP)

"Yes, that feels so much better...(another deep breath)...Thank you." Emily said as I held the corset.

"No problem...what should I do with this?" I asked, holding the corset up.

"Give it to the witches, I'm sure they'll find a use for it." Emily said looking at the mirror and then looking at me again with a dry look directed at the corset, "They can sell it for all I care."

"Man...you REALLY hate this thing, didn't you?" I teasingly asked as I went out, taking the corset with me as Emily laughed.

As I went out the skull door, my ears suddenly suffered from high-pitched screams from the two witches and I saw the girls pop up from behind a rack that was stocked with jewelry, and they looked around warily like they suspected someone was being murdered.

"What is THAT you have in your hands?!" The big witch demanded, her hands on her hips as she glared at me.

"A...corset?" I said slowly, ready to run in case she decided to put a hex on me.

"A CORSET?! CORSETS ARE FORBIDDEN IN HALLOWEEN TOWN!" Both witches screamed at me, making me drop the corset and cover my ears from the painful volume of their yelling.

The corset didn't even touch the ground as the big witch snapped her fingers and it floated to them. As I uncovered my ears and watched them, they chanted a little before flames came from nowhere and the corset began to burn. I stood there stunned as I watched them cook some what seemed to be ingredients over the flames before dropping them into the slimy-looking water of their caldron. As they roasted what seemed to be their last ingredient, the little witch snapped her fingers and the fires on the corset doubled and it was suddenly just ashes, which also went into the caldron.

"Don't like corsets, huh?" I asked, feeling a slight smile coming onto my face.

"Corsets are forbidden, as I've told you." The big witch replied, not really paying attention to me.

"May I ask why?" I inquired, my hand smoothing back my hair.

"It was one of the rules that the great Pumpkin King Jack O'Lantern himself made long ago." The little witch said, her sister nodding, "It was to please his Pumpkin Queen, the Witch Hazel. According to history, she was rebellious against the ways of proper ladies back then, hated corsets more than anything, so her husband banished them from existence in Halloween Town."

"Awwwww! That was so sweet of him to do!" I couldn't help but say, my hands going to my heart, touched by the history of the rule.

"Oh yes, Jack O'Lantern loved his queen very much, almost as much as he loved Halloween." The big witch said.

_There's always something guys love a little more than their women._ I thought, groaning inwardly at the thought of having a guy love something a little more than myself.

"That witch was so powerful..." The big witch continued, slowly shaking her head in awe while staring into space, "One of her most important ingredients that she used in her spells was the plants that are known as Witch Hazel now, and one of my great-grandmothers renamed that plant to honor the Pumpkin Queen."

"That's cool!" I said, and at that point, Emily chose to come out of the skull door.

"Sorry that took so long, what do you think of this outfit?" Emily asked me as she came closer.

I looked her over and found that the orange pants and the black shirt with a glittery orange-eyed skull on it suited Emily very well. Her white shoes matched the skull, so I decided not mention buying new shoes when it seemed to be unnecessary.

"That looks so good on you, Emily." I told her honestly, earning a happy smile in return, "You're going to knock some boys' socks off."

"I look that nice?" Emily asked and before I could answer...

"TIFF!" The girls called from the jewelry.

"I've been summoned, please excuse me." I said in an apologizing tone as I walked to the girls and then pretended to be grouchy with them, "What now...brats?"

"Can we get these?" Cassandra asked as they held up a few items (and IGNORING ME!)

As I bent over to see, I almost sighed at what they had.

Cassandra had a jeweled cat collar, an orange/black dress with paw-prints all over it and a glittery pumpkin charm, probably to put on the collar. Tara had a sparkly purple umbrella with black bats on it, a pair of charming spider earrings, and last but not least, a dress that was mostly purple and it had black spider-webs while there was a bat on the chest area that was made to look like it was about to take flight. I took the umbrella from Tara and looked it over.

"What do you need this for? As long as we've been here, there have been no signs of rain." I told her, giving the umbrella back.

"The other vampires have umbrellas to keep the sun off, I need one too." Tara told me, and as I leaned down to her eye level to ask her why, I saw little red marks like burns on Tara's face and some on her neck.

I practically put my foot in my mouth as it turned out that she did an umbrella after all, and I didn't want those burns to get any worse than what they were already.

"Alright, we'll get it, along with the rest of your stuff." I told them, and rolled my eyes at their cheer (YAY!).

Emily was giggling by the time we were coming over.

"What are you laughing at, huh?" I teasingly asked her, making her giggle harder.

I took her by the arm, pulling her over to the cash register where the two witches stood waiting, and I handed her the bag, seeing how she knew what was what in that thing. Emily paid for all the items we had picked out and asked one of the witches for a bag to carry her gown in as we waited with our own stuffed bags by the door. As she came back with her gown in the bag and as we walked out, Emily asked me about something I had temporarily forgotten about as I observed Tara making use of her new umbrella which flashed as she opened it.

"What did the witches do with my corset?" Emily asked me, the question making me stop where I was and double over laughing, earning a very confused look from her, "What...what's so funny?"

"They...(Hahahaha!)...b..(More laughing)..burned it!" I managed to get out and I dropped to the ground, laughing my butt off.

The girls just stood a distance away, acting like they didn't know me while Emily on the other hand, stood there looking at me like I was insane as others passed by and most of them giving me the strangest looks. I finally got up and apologized while wiping the tears from my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I don't why that was so funny to me." I said honestly, blushing hard as I realized I had embarrassed my sister and our friends out of death. (Nightmare before Christmas joke, haha.)

"Why did they burn my corset?" Emily asked, not looking mournful at all at the idea, but curious all the same.

I told her what the witches had told me and then she started laughing a little.

"Well, now I understand why they shrieked as loud as your banshee scream." Emily told me and all of us went towards Jack's house, "I could hear them through the two doors!"

As we went towards the rather tall, skinny house, the memory of seeing Boogie's Boys eyeing Emily in particular came suddenly to my mind and I kept watching out for them as we went to our temporarily home, the Mayor just leaving the gate.

"Hello ladies, enjoy your girls' day out?" The Mayor asked politely, his smiling face on.

"Yes, thank you." Emily said as she went past him to the door.

"How about you, girls?" He asked Cassandra and Tara as they passed him.

"Fine." They both replied, making it obvious that they didn't like him as they passed.

"How about you, Miss Harders?" The Mayor asked as I came up, his smiling face surprisingly still to the front, "Are you enjoying the cash I gave you."

"It won't last for long, that's for sure." I told him before entering Jack's house, "Scare ya later."

Smiling at the yelp I heard from the Mayor as I entered the house, I dropped the bag of money onto the table that was in the entry way and I heard Emily talking to someone upstairs. I went upstairs to see what was going on and I found Emily showing off her new outfit to a rather tired-looking Jack Skellington who was sitting at one of his three desks.

"You look very nice, Emily." Jack said smiling kindly as Emily turned for him, "Those clothes really do suit you."

"Are you doing alright Jack?" I asked him as I came over.

"I guess so, the Mayor's driving me crazy this year like he does every year." Jack told me tiredly and a little mischievousness rose in me as he rubbed his skull with his forefingers and thumbs.

"Short drive, Jack." I told him and found myself on the floor trying to squirm from the suddenly energetic Jack who was tickling me!

"HAHAHAHA! STOP! QUIT! I CAN'T BREATHE! HAHAHAHAHA! STOP IT! QUIT IT JACK! HAHAHA!"

"SAY UNCLE! SAY UNCLE!" Jack yelled as he tickled me and I could hear Emily laughing over my own hysterical laughter while I kicked and clawed at the floor trying to get away from Jack.

"NEVER!" I yelled in reply and regretted saying that because he doubled his tickle-torture session on me while Emily and the girls laughed, "OKAY! OKAY! HAHAHAHA! UNCLE!"

"I knew you'd see it my way." Jack told me as he stopped tickling my sides and I stuck out my tongue at him, the Pumpkin King mirroring my action back at me.

I laid there gasping until I got my breath back and then suddenly knocked him over to try to give him a taste of his own medicine. Except, it turns out there was a problem.

Apparently, Jack Skellington isn't ticklish...at all.

He just sat there grinning while I searched for nonexistence ticklish areas and I finally gave up, letting out a huge sigh at having no fun at all.

"Not fair, truly." Was all I said as I sat cross-legged and pouted.

"Cheer up Tiff." Jack told me as he stood and helped me to my feet, "I have something that might cheer you up."

He led all of us into his study, where three jars were in a line on a table. One consisted of a yellow goop-looking substance, the other jars contained the same kind of substance only there was a red one and a really light blue one.

I started to think they were some new kind of candy that Halloween Town produced and Jack wanted to share some, but then the yellow one started jumping around in the jar. My sockets widened I stared at the yellow goop sticking to the top of the jar before it dropped back to the bottom and as I watched, the other two started jumping around in their jars as well.

Jumping Laffy-Screamy maybe? Leaping Gummi-Slime even?

"What in heaven's name is this stuff?" I asked as I bent so that I could look at the yellow goop at eye level.

"Doctor Finklestein made them." Jack explained, picking up the jar of light-blue goop, Cassandra eyeing it particularly, "The yellow one is a Lightening Strike, the red is a Flame Torch, and the light blue one here (held it up) is an Ice Storm."

"So...they're element...things?" Cassandra asked as Jack suddenly handed the jar to her.

"No, they're just bionic whip-like weapons that react to the owners, mine is a Soul Robber." Jack said and as he held up his arm, I saw a green goop wrapped around his wrist like a weird pulsing bracelet.

"Weapons? You're giving us weapons?" I asked, not believing what I was hearing.

"They're not just for fighting, they can be pretty handy for reaching high places." Jack told us and he demonstrated by his Soul Robber to grab onto the rail above us and with one tug, he launched himself upwards, did a flip and landed to stand with us again.

"That's so cool Jack. But why are they called the way they are?" I asked, picking up the Lightening Strike's jar to get a better look and it suddenly lunged at me, stopped by the glass but it made me put it back down on the table quickly anyway.

"It won't hurt you, it's just really excited to meet you." Jack told me assurely and then answered my previous question, "The doctor named them according to the color they turned out to be."

Cassandra suddenly opened the Ice Storm's jar, making horror leap into my throat despite what Jack said about them not hurting anyone and the goop wrapped itself on Cassandra's right wrist, shaping it's self to look like a snow-flaked bracelet. Cassandra's eyes lit up at the shape that it had chose to take.

As I stared at the now pretty thing on Cassandra's arm, Jack lightly slapped his forehead.

"I almost forgot, after these kind of weapons are named, they try to live up to their names, as Cassandra's Ice Storm has demonstrated for us." Jack said, also looking at the 'bracelet'.

"Doesn't Emily get one?" Cassandra suddenly asked, looking at Emily in pity.

"Emily knew about this idea, we talking about it one night downstairs while you were in bed." Jack said to us, putting a hand on Cassandra's shoulder, "We never did take the time to welcome you to Halloween Town properly, so I thought maybe you would like some of these. I offered to have the doctor make her one as well, but she doesn't want one."

I looked at Emily and she shook her head while smiling, showing that she truly didn't want one.

"But aren't you going a little far, I mean..." I said as I picked up the Lightening Strike's jar again, trying not to jump as it lunged at me again, "These have to be very valuable, and the good doctor must have..."

"Nonsense, he was happy to do so after I told him about you three." Jack replied, waving it off, "Besides, what are friends for, anyway?"

I couldn't help but be touched as Tara then picked up and opened the Flame Torch's jar, the stuff also latched onto her right wrist, turning into a flame wrist band. Everyone then looked at me and I gulped slightly as I slowly opened the Lightening Strike's Jar. It moved slowly out of the jar, like it sensed how nervous/ready I was and as I watched, it wrapped around my right wrist slowly, the texture of it feeling like living silk. As it came completely on, it shaped itself into a form that looked like a looping gold bracelet that curled at the ends.

"There, you see, it won't hurt its own master...or mistress, in your case." Jack told me, smiling as I relaxed, and then asked me a surprising question, "Tiff, would you mind traveling with me in a few days' time?"

"Huh?" Was all I got out, a confused frown coming onto my face.

"I need new ideas for a Halloween, and I need someone to come with me in order to look for some good Halloween ideas." Jack explained as I stared at him like he was crazy (oh wait, he is!), "I need somebody adult, travel-worthy, and who knows how to scare."

"The girls can scare and travel just as well as you probably think I can." I said in their defense so they wouldn't feel over-looked and unappreciated, "They're also more adult-like than people give them credit."

"I know, that's why I wanted to put them in charge of watching after Emily while we're gone." Jack replied.

"I don't get it Jack." I said honestly, folding my arms across my chest, "Why me? Why me in particular? I'm sure there's somebody else that could be a better traveling companion."

Jack fell silent for a long time, not looking at any of us as he held his hands behind his back. I was beginning to feel bad and stupid when Emily came up suddenly and put her hands on my shoulders, making me jump for the second time that day.

"Please excuse us." Emily said to us politely and she steered me by the shoulders out of the study into the kitchen.

"Yes?" I asked after she let go and let me face her.

"Tiffany, please don't be so difficult." Emily pleaded, her hands coming up in front of her like she was praying.

"I'm not trying to be difficult, Emily, I'm confused!" I said in pure defense, my anger rising up, "Why does he want me to..."

"Have you looked at Sally's pictures?" Emily asked, suddenly whispering as she leaned towards me and I leaned forward as well, curious to what she was getting at, "Have you ever considered...how much you look like Jack and Sally combined?"

I fell into a stunned silence as my jaw snapped shut, feeling surprise and guilt clash against each other in my heart.

"Tiffany, I think he wants you to go with him because you remind him of better times." Emily told me and I could see unshed tears as she spoke, making the guilt stronger, "I think you remind him of both Sally and what could have been their child."

As I thought about it, a sudden thought made me want to run away as far as I could from Skellington Manor.

"Emily, what if he's falling in love with me...or my image that reminds him of Sally?" I asked, fear of the unknown trials coming right for me.

"Is that so bad?" Emily asked, looking surprised at my alarm.

"Love can be bad if it's for the wrong reasons." I replied, "I mean, what about you?"

Now Emily looked really surprised at that point.

"What do you mean, what about me?" Emily asked, her eyes nearly growing to the size of dinner plates and a sensible part of me made me hold a hand ready in case her eye popped out.

"Don't act dumb, I know for a fact that you admire him." I replied, earning another shocked look, "And I know for a fact it's not like the type of admiration that his fan girls in town have for him."

"How do you know I have an admiration for him?" Emily asked, suddenly seeming playful, and her acting skills would have made Shakespeare proud, she nearly fooled me.

But she didn't fool me, if I may go straight to the point.

"That day after we had scared the Mayor, when you fell across his lap and stared up at him." I replied, smiling a slightly evil smile as I remembered the admiring look on her face, "And the fact you keep looking at him when you think no one's looking while you're cooking and when he's looking at a book or one of the plans for Halloween, you just stare at him like you're smitten. Not that I blame you, of course, he is a charmer."

I was only teasing a little, but Emily then suddenly left the kitchen while her cheeks turned purple from blushing, and I mentally yelled at myself for being inconsiderate as I followed her to apologize for embarrassing her, but ended up getting a door in the face as she had gone into her room.

_STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! YOU KNOW HOW SENSATIVE SHE IS!_ I raged at myself in my mind as I stared at Emily's door and I could hear a sorrowful sigh from the other side, making me feel even guiltier._ You might as well go traveling with Jack when the time comes, that's what they both want. Goodness knows that they've been so good to you and the girls._

Leaving Emily to have some time to herself, I went back into the study, and had to duck an Ice Storm that went for my head, whipping the door instead.

"Sorry Tiff!" Cassandra said, looking pale at the thought of nearly hitting me.

"It's fine, calm down." I said somewhat irritated at my head been nearly taken off, holding up my hands and then looked at Jack, who was coming over.

"Tiffany, if you don't want to come with me..." Jack started.

"I'm coming with you and that's final, I don't wanna hear any more argument." I told/teased him and he suddenly looked very happy.

"That's great. I'm glad you decided to come with me after all." Jack said, making me feel a little better about myself.

A little, not much at all.

That night I took care of supper, and before I dined with everyone else, I took a plate of food up to Emily's room. Jack didn't ask why I was doing that, which saved me the complication of an explanation that I didn't really have.

"Emily..." I said, knocking on the door, "Supper's ready."

I didn't hear anything and I withheld a sigh as the guilt game back to nip at my heart.

"Okay, the plate and silverware are outside your door." I said, putting the dish down right in front of the door and stepping back to leave, "When you get hungry, please eat."

With that I left and as I went back to the dining room, I could hear the door open and I smiled slightly while hoping that tomorrow she would be her usual self. I went towards the dining room where I could hear Jack talking to the girls about their Ice Storm and Fire Torch. I had to go by Jack's study in order to get there and when I passed it, I spotted something in the open door that made me stop and step backwards to see it again.

It was a picture of the Valentine's Tree, and as I stared at it, especially at the heart in the middle, an idea began to slowly form in my mind as I made my Lightening Strike shoot out and grab the picture. As I looked at the picture in my hands, the idea became more and more appealing to me.

_Maybe...just maybe..._I thought as I left the picture by the open door and to the dining room, _We can get Jack and Emily together somehow. And that way, Jack won't fall in love with me for the wrong reasons or any other reason, and Emily will finally get the marriage she deserves. And since we're dealing with a holiday, why not have them fall with love with a holiday way? Sounds legal enough to me._

That night after we did the dishes and we were going to bed, I grabbed the girls and pulled them into my room while covering their mouths so that they wouldn't yelp. After they were inside and on my bed, I shut the door quickly but quietly.

"What?" Cassandra asked as I locked my door, making sure that the discussion I wanted to have with the girls wouldn't be interrupted.

"I have an idea to get..." I started but then listened hard for a noise that meant either Jack or Emily was coming and after I heard nothing, "As I've said, I have an idea...to get Jack and Emily together."

"You do?" Both girls asked, looking surprised.

"Yep." I replied and then I told them all about my idea that involved Valentine's Day, which earned me some really positive reactions.

"That's a really good idea, Tiff." Cassandra asked while Tara nodded while grinning.

"When are we doing it?" Tara asked, and both girls looked at me in anticipation.

"Tomorrow." I replied, "We'll take Ivory, Angel-wing, and Snowball to look for the Holiday Trees. We'll tell Jack we're going for a ride tomorrow morning. The sooner, the better."

"Okay, but..." Cassandra started and then left off, her ears drooping while having this uneasy look on her face.

"But?" I inquired, leaning to look her in the eye.

"We can't just go to Valentine's Town and steal some love arrows!" Cassandra said in a nervous tone.

"We're not...stealing, we're **borrowing**." I corrected and then added, "We'll just take two arrows and a bow, that's it, nothing else. After we're done, we'll return the bow."

Cassandra looked like she felt slightly better about my plan after I told her that and I got up before unlocking the door to send them to bed. After they left, and as I lay down in bed while smacking aside a tentacle of the monster-under-the-bed that tried to grab my foot, I was wondering how we were going to find the Holiday Doors before we were gone too long.

_**The next morning...**_

I went into the kitchen while grabbing a black apple from a bowl and was not surprised to see the Mayor talking with Jack again. I could hear the girls behind me taking some apples as well and one of them pulled on my hand. I lifted up a hand to silently tell them to wait a moment and then as the Mayor FINALLY stopped talking, I cleared my throat. Jack turned around and gave us a warm smile.

"Good morning, ladies! I hope you slept well." Jack said in his gentlemanly manner.

"We slept fine, thanks." I said, smiling at him, "The girls and I were wondering if it would be alright to ride the reindeer this morning."

"Oh, by all means, go right ahead!" Jack said, gesturing towards the door, "The Mayor and I will be discussing Halloween preparations for quite some time, so have fun and be careful."

"We will Jack, thanks." I said as we passed him and the Mayor.

I couldn't resist giving the Mayor an evil smile as I passed him and his nervous face came on as we left and I could hear Jack laughing. As soon as we were outside, I bit into my apple.

**I thought I would give a little bit of a note here by this point. Halloween Town's food is not actually what it's called, except for Frog's breath. Emily tried to get me to try some Frog's Breath in some soup, but I couldn't breath much less taste it, so that's off my list of things edible. The black apples were called Poison Apples, but instead of being poisoned, they were sweet and crunchy. Cassandra, Tara and I loved them apples! Halloween Town just gave scary names to their food, to add to their list of scary things, I guess.**

The apples didn't last long and soon we were striding towards the stable. As soon as we opened those doors, we were greeted by the reindeer shaking their head and grinning their big happy grins.

"Hey Ivory, miss me buddy?" I asked as I grabbed his bridle and saddle before going into his stall.

The reindeer were completely still as we saddled them, but when we were leading them out...they were hopping on their hooves like they were just aching to get some action.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy boy, easy!" I said as I tried not to laugh at Ivory's excitement and he stood still, but kept nodding his head as I tried to get on.

Cassandra and Tara got on their reindeer without difficulty despite their reindeer moving around and we took off flying. I saw Jack waving at us from a window and I waved back, the girls doing the same thing as we flew away. As soon as we were in the clouds, I began to shout instructions to the girls.

"OKAY! Now all we have to do is look for Spiral Hill!" I yelled to them, "After we find it, we have to go onto the ground to look for the Holiday Trees in the woods!"

"What if we get lost?" Cassandra asked/yelled.

"Yeah, what if we get lost?" Tara also asked/yelled.

"We'll fly over the trees and go back to the beginning!" I yelled back at them, urging Ivory to go a little lower than the clouds so that I could see Spiral Hill. We flew for a long time, just looking for an abnormal hill, and I was being to wonder if we had passed it when Cassandra yelled at me.

"TIFFANY!" Cassandra yelled excitingly.

"WHAT?!" I yelled back.

"I SEE IT!"

"WHERE?!" I asked, looking at the ground.

"THERE!" Cassandra yelled, pointing at something on the ground ahead of us.

I looked in the direction she was pointing and there it was, a huge hill with its famous spiral that gave it its name, Spiral Hill. We made the reindeer fly quickly toward it and we landed smoothly. As I sat there on Ivory's saddle and looked around, the scene of Jack and Sally's confession of their love in this very place in the movie flashed in my head.

_**Memory...**_

_**Sally walked with some difficulty through the snow to the top of Spiral Hill, and finally making it to her desired spot, she sat where she was and picked at the petals of the dead flower that she had carried with her. As she reached for another petal, she heard a voice she never believed she would ever hear singing to her.**_

_My dearest friend, if you don't mind,_

_I'd like to join you by your side._

_**Sally turned to see Jack Skellington walk towards her through the snow, and she stood as he stepped over the fence that she had to climb over. Jack continued to sing as he stepped towards her, his sockets never leaving her as he walked up the hill.**_

_Where we can gaze into the stars._

_**Sally joined him in his song as he came closer and closer, his hands reaching towards her.**_

_And sit together, now and forever._

_For it's as plain, as anyone can see._

_We're simply meant to be..._

_**Jack's hands joined Sally's as their song was done, and they drew close, kissing for the first time.**_

_**End Memory...**_

I wasn't aware that I was crying until Cassandra spoke up.

"Tiff? Are you okay?" Cassandra asked in concern.

I jumped, having temporarily forgotten that Cassandra and Tara were there with me, and I realized that I had tears running down my face while I automatically sniffed.

"I'm fine!" I said, a little too harshly even to my own ears as I wiped at the tears on my face with my sleeve and then I grabbed the reins, having Ivory trot to the spiral, "Let's go."

Spiral Hill immediately started unroll as we rode towards the top so we went ahead and rode down the tail-like spiral. After we made it to the ground, we had the reindeer go into a gallop into the woods. As we rode, I allowed the girls to ride in front of me and I looked back at Spiral Hill, thinking of poor Sally and the story of how she had died.

_I hope you won't think ill of me, Sally...for what I'm trying to do for both Jack and Emily,_ I thought as I looked at the girls in front of me and had Ivory run a little faster in order to catch up, _Rest in peace, wherever you and your child may be._

We rode forward, dodging only trees that were dead-looking, and as the Pumpkin Sun was high in the sky at noon, we finally found the Holiday Trees.

"OH! Finally!" Cassandra said in relief as the reindeer slowed into a walk and we rode into the circle of trees.

Then we reined in the reindeer and dismounted, giving our poor legs a chance to walk on their own. I stretched and then started to look around, walking as I did so. The first Holiday Tree I spotted was the St. Patrick's Day, then as I turned, there was Independence Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day...

"Here's the tree we want." I said and I walked towards it.

"Tiffany?" Cassandra suddenly said and as I turned around, she pointed to a tree, "Isn't that supposed to be the Halloween Tree?"

I looked at the tree she was pointing at in confusion and found to my amazement that instead of the Halloween Door, there was a door in the shape of Cassandra's and my house.

"Yeah, that's supposed to the Halloween Door." I confirmed and took a few steps towards it, looking at the knob.

"We're not going home already, are we?" Cassandra asked, looking at me in alarm, and Tara also looked at me like she was about to panic, "What about Jack and Emily?"

I looked at her and then looked at the door, a part of me feeling homesickness somewhere in my heart cried at me and that same part longed to reach my hand out to open the door and go home. But most of me wanted Jack and Emily to have what they deserved, and that was love.

"No, home can wait." I said shaking my head at the door and I turned around to march straight at the Valentine's Day Tree, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah!" Both girls said enthusiastically and I said to the reindeer, "Wait here."

At first after I opened the door, it didn't do anything at all, and I looked inside the tree to see nothing but complete darkness from top to bottom. I turned around to look at the girls and shrug, wondering why this wasn't working. As soon as that thought left my head, a pink wind with little hearts of every bright color came and swirled around us, pulling us into the tree!

"WHOA!" I yelped as we fell, and all I could see was pink, red, white swirls and the little hearts swirling with us.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!" The girls said as they fell with me.

For some reason, that exciting fall into the tree with all the swirls and the hearts made me think of some white ice-cream with little red hearts that I used to eat as a little girl a long time ago.

I think we've accomplished that the girls and I are strange.

We fell for probably just a moment, but it felt like a day to me until we finally landed in a street filled with sparkle dust and hearts, myself on my front and the girls on their backs. As I looked up while spitting out some hearts, I thought this...

_Holy cow! Smooch city! So this is Valentine Town._ I thought as I eyed the numerous couples that were kissing in public in a rather bright pink, red, and white town. Every building had some kind of heart on it and it looked really nice, but the one thing that caught my eye the most was a tall castle that looked like it was made of light-rose crystal. As I was looking in awe at the beautiful castle, I could finally see the little cupids flying around with arrows.

"Okay, watch out for them!" I said to the girls as we got up, and I pointed at the cupids to show what I was talking about, "They could give us a problem, so watch your backs."

"Are you the one? Are you my soul mate?" I heard a guy ask and I turned to see this brown-haired boy that couldn't have been more than twelve years old, dressed in a pink shirt and red pants looking at me and I swear there were hearts in his eyes as he came towards me!

"I'M GONE!" I yelled and I picked up the girls who yelped at what I did and started running for my life as the boy chased us.

"Wait! Wait! Come back!" The boy called to me dreamily as he chased us.

I looked over my shoulder and (I swear this is true) the guy was floating after us with his arms stretched out towards me while little hearts trailed after him!! I could feel my heart leap into my throat as I tried to run faster and leave him behind.

"GOOD GRIEF! LEAVE US ALONE!" I yelled as I stormed through Valentine Town, startling a few couples out of kissing and they stared after us as I charged through the town.

We finally lost the floating lover-boy-wanna-be in an alley and I sat behind a pink trashcan with the girls, panting and wanting to swear until I was blue in the face. But the girls were with me, so I withheld myself from cussing and I kept looking around in case we hadn't really lost him like we thought. Cassandra was also keeping an eye out while Tara was laughing for some odd reason.

"What?" I finally asked, my breath back.

"That was kinda funny, the way that guy was chasing you." Tara replied, her giggles a little louder after she told me.

"Laugh it up, fang-face." I told her, somewhat angry that she had found that funny.

"Well it is funny!" Cassandra said in Tara's defense, and she started laughing along with Tara.

I rolled my eyes and got up, checking to see if the coast was clear one last time and then walking slowly out of the alleyway, the girls right behind me. I looked both ways up and down the heart-covered street, looking for my recent chaser, but he was nowhere to be seen and I stepped out onto the road carefully. I suddenly spotted a cupid flying down right in front of us, putting his bow and a quiver that seemed to have just two arrows left down onto a rack with other bows and quivers before going into what looked like a cupid-only restaurant. I snorted as I read the pink and red sign in the window, "No Love Arrows or Bows Allowed, Leave Outside on Rack."

"Sweet!" Cassandra said and she shot out her Ice Storm suddenly, grabbing the bow and quiver, "Let's go back to Halloween Town!"

"MY LOVE!!" I heard an all-too-familiar voice call out.

"CRAP!" I yelled and I grabbed the girls again, Cassandra just barely holding onto what we had come for and I sped off like there was no tomorrow.

It took a LONG, LONG time and the guy kept chasing us, but we finally lost him...and got another problem.

"Oh, you are more beautiful than any star!" Another boy in a white shirt and pink shorts said, floating towards Tara.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tara screamed and all of us started running once again.

It took even longer to lose him, and we were about to catch our breath when ANOTHER boy grabbed Cassandra and tried to kiss her while she fought back by shoving and hissing.

"You're so beautiful with your black fur and whiskers." The boy said dreamily, the hearts in his eyes as he puckered up and tried to kiss my sister again.

"GET OFF JERK!" Cassandra yelled as she pushed and shoved at him, managing to keep him from kissing her, "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

"GET OFF HER!" I yelled and shoved him off Cassandra, hauling her under my arm while I was at it and running away with Tara right behind me.

That boy was harder to lose than the other two combined, but we finally managed to figure out how to get back to the Holiday Tree Circle without being kissed by the crazed boys and the reindeer, who had been waiting patiently for our return, walked forward to greet us as we came back.

I shuddered from the experience, thinking about how close we had been to getting...

"EEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" I yelled, shaking my head like mad, "I just grossed out myself just by thinking about that place! They should call it Gag City instead of Valentine's Town!"

"Or Gross-so Town!" Tara added, shuddering very hard as well.

"Now children..." Cassandra started, amazing calm about the whole ordeal.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled at Cassandra.

"Well, don't you think that was gross?" Tara asked Cassandra as she started laughing.

I suddenly leaned on Ivory, just so relieved that we had finally gotten away from the love-crazed boys and so tired from all the running, carrying, and yelling that I had done. Cassandra suddenly spoke up.

"Tiff?" Cassandra said, "We sort of...have a problem."

"Oh no, did we lose anything?" I groaned, turned around and still holding onto Ivory while I thought, _I hope not, I do NOT want to go back unless it's to return the bow and quiver! Otherwise, I'm not going anywhere near that town again!_

"No, we got three instead of just two arrows!" Cassandra said, holding up the arrows for me to see.

"WHOA! Hey, put them back!" I said, holding up my hands palms up as a warning as Cassandra gave me an irritated look while still holding the arrows, "If you cut yourself on one of them, you'll fall in love with the first guy you see! And if it's the Mayor you fall in love with?"

"YIKES!" Cassandra yelped and all but shoved the arrows back into the quiver, "These things are dangerous!"

"And also hazardous to your health if used improperly." I replied, walking over and taking the bow and quiver, slinging both over my shoulder and head.

"Now what do we do?" Tara asked, mounting Snowball.

"Phase two of my ingenious plan!" I said, using an accent from King Julian from the movie Madagascar as Cassandra mounted Angel-wing, "We go make Jack and Emily fall in love! Hurray everybody!"

"HURRAY!!" Both girls yelled back.

"Alright!" I said, dropping the accent and mounting Ivory as we took off flying straight into the sky, "Let's go!"

It was a lot easier going back since we knew where Jack's house and the stables were, so we got there in the shortest time possible for flying skeleton reindeer. As we landed onto the ground, I looked around for anybody who might see us and what we had with us. Seeing no one, not even in Jack's windows, we dismounted and hurryingly unsaddled the reindeer in the stables, who were happy to see their stalls again. As we walked out cautiously, we heard the Mayor coming out of the house and we dove into the space underneath the stairway that lead up to the front door where the Mayor was coming from. As we heard him walking down and humming the Pumpkin Song, Cassandra tugged on my arm.

"Tiff." Tara whispered so that I could hear but the Mayor couldn't.

"What?" I whispered back, using the same volume.

"Can we use the third arrow on the Mayor?" Tara asked, making me look at her funny for a minute until I realized what an excellent idea that was.

"Cover me." Was all I said as I sneaked out while he was just going out the gate and I swiftly pulled off the bow and aiming carefully.

"Shouldn't we do Jack and Emily first?" Cassandra asked, but it was too late.

I shot the arrow into the Mayor's big butt.

The minute that arrow pierced his flesh, the Mayor jumped about fifty feet in the air and landed onto his front, making us hold back painful laughter. As I watched while holding my mouth with one hand to keep back my laughter, the arrow slowly disappeared, having done what it was supposed to do.

"OW! WHO DID THAT?!" The Mayor demanded as he got up and I dove back into the space with the girls.

"I wonder who he's going to fall in love with?" Tara whispering, still trying not to giggle as I settled in with them as quietly as I could.

"We'll have to wait to see in about five seconds." I said, somewhat sure that it took that long.

"Oooooooh! Are you my soul mate, my darling little witch?" We heard the Mayor said dreamily after two seconds and it took all we had to keep from laughing as we peeked out and spotted the Mayor chasing after the little witch while the big witch was staring at them in absolute confusion.

"You are a genius." I told Tara as we came out and watched the fun, leaving the bow and arrows under the stairs in case Jack or Emily came out.

"I know. I know." Tara replied, acting somewhat modest about it and she shined her nails on her shirt as Cassandra hysterically laughed at what the Mayor was doing.

The Mayor was an absolute love-sick maniac with the dreaded hearts in his eyes, chasing after the little witch who had left her broom with her sister by accident and she was screaming at him to leave her alone. She ran all over the Town's Square with the Mayor on her heels (who wasn't floating after her, to my amazement) until she suddenly ran into her shop and locked the door, but that didn't stop him! He BURST through the door and I could hear the little witch scream inside as he ran in to find her. The big witch ran inside after him with the two brooms, probably chanting a few spells while she was at it.

"WHOA! I wish I knew the cure!" I said, regretting that I had shot him with a love arrow as I heard the poor little witch's screaming and the big witch yelling.

"At least we have two for Jack and Emily." Cassandra said, looking on the bright side as she also looked like she regretted suggesting shooting the love arrow into the Mayor.

"Yeah, maybe it won't be so bad that way." Tara said, shuddering underneath her umbrella at the noise from inside the shop.

"What is going on?" We heard someone ask and we turned around to see Jack come out, Emily right behind him and looking a little scared as it suddenly became quiet.

"Apparently...um..." I started, looking at the Witches' Shop and then back at Jack, "The Mayor has gone coo-coo for the little witch."

"Coo-coo?" Jack implored, raising an eye ridge at me while his hands went to his hips while slightly leaning forward in his usual fashion.

"He's in love." Cassandra said, looking at him before watching the shop again.

"Oh when did this happen? And why is the little witch screaming?" Jack asked, coming down to stand with us and also stare at the Witches' Shop.

"Happened just now, I believe." I said truthfully, though leaving the love arrows out, "And the little witch...doesn't...return his feelings I guess."

"I see, but why is she screaming?" Jack asked again, and then suddenly got suspicious, "You three wouldn't have anything to do with this, would you?"

I started to panic but inwardly forced myself to remain calm and I looked Jack in the eye.

"Do we look capable of doing something like making the Mayor fall in love?" I asked casually, ignoring the panic that tried to rise, "And making him chase the little witch all over the Town's Square like a maniac?"

Jack looked a little taken back at my to-the-point-question and then he began thoughtful-looking, staring at the Witches' Shop before shrugging.

"I suppose that is a little far-fetched." Jack admitted finally, and he started walking towards the shop while saying over his shoulder, "Sorry about that."

"It's alright, everyone makes mistakes." I said as Jack walked into the Town's Square towards the shop, which was now crowded by the local monsters, and I thought, _And you don't know what a big mistake we made shooting that stupid love arrow._

"I'm...going back inside." Emily said as soon as Jack entered the shop and she all but ran back up the stairs, obviously scared of whatever was going on and she wanted no part of it.

As soon as the door shut behind her, I let out a relieved sigh, the girls doing the exact same thing.

"That was close." I said, watching the shop again for any signs of anybody coming out.

"Tell me about it." Cassandra agreed.

"Yeah, tell us about it." Tara said, slightly copying Cassandra.

Jack suddenly came out of the shop, looking very confused and the big witch came out after him, looking equally confused. The girls and I exchanged a look and we ran down to Jack who stood near the fountain, scratching his skull while his sockets were directed towards the ground.

"What's up?" I asked as we reached him and stopped while skidding a little.

"I thought you said that the little witch didn't return the Mayor's feelings?" Jack implored, looking at us with his confusion written on his skull.

"We did." Tara said as we stared at him in equal confusion.

"Well...they're kissing in there." Jack said and the pointed to the shop, "Here they come now."

We turned just in time to see the Mayor come out while leading the little witch by the hand, the little witch looking smitten now. I was stunned out my mind until I felt an arm around my waist.

"Now if only I could get you looking that way for me babe." I heard an unwelcome voice say in my ear as a head leaned its chin on my shoulder.

"Hello Duke." I said, showing all the dislike I had for him in my voice, "Aren't you afraid that I'll tell the witches on you?"

"Don't be like that." Duke said, and then he actually had the nerve to kiss my neck.

I used my Lightening Strike to flip him over from me and he sat up while giving me the most shocked look I have ever received.

"Now Duke, you should have known better." Jack scolded, helping his nephew to his feet, "Your father and I've told you time and time again, don't kiss a girl without her permission."

"Uncle Jack, I'm an adult, I'll make decisions for myself, thank you though." Duke said in a surprisingly polite tone as he straightened and dusted off his leather attire.

"I'll see you later Jack." I said as I walked back to the house, the girls following after me and I heard one of them blowing a raspberry and I knew without looking that it was directed at Duke.

"Hey! That's not very nice!" I heard Duke call in a teasing tone.

_A bit of a jerk around women, but around kids, he's doesn't seem so bad._ I decided as I walked through the gate.


	3. Chapter 3

CrusaderTransformer1: (Hides behind a shield) I know that's it's been a while since I've updated on this story and I'm sorry, so PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! Someone I never thought would come to do the disclaimer is here today.

Raziel (From the Legacy of Kain: Defience): This authoress does not own Nightmare Before Christmas, and she also does not own the company which made this movie. She owns herself and her sisters own themselves as well.

CrusaderTransformer1: Thanks Raziel, I never thought you would do a disclaimer for me.

Raziel: (Walks out)

CrusaderTransformer1: Well...okay then. Enjoy this chapter.

I headed towards the stairs where the bow and quiver were lying in wait, when I felt a hand upon my shoulder.

"What?" I asked, thinking it was Cassandra or Tara.

"Is that any way to greet a guest?" I heard a musical voice ask playfully.

Whirling around, I saw what I thought was an angel from heaven at first. The woman that stood before me had soft-looking golden hair, the bluest eyes, peach-colored skin, and a beautiful face. She wore a pink silk robe that clung softly on her body and her wings were rain-bow colored. As I stared at the angel-like woman, I noticed that she had a circlet of hearts around her head and that she held a heart-tipped rod in her hand.

"Tiffany, I am Venus, the Queen of Hearts in Valentine Town." The angel-like woman said to me, "And I know that you and your sisters stole something from one of my cupids."

I blinked, coming out of the slight trance I had been in.

"We didn't steal!" Cassandra said, coming to my defense as well as my side to stand there, "We borrowed the bow and quiver to..."

"To make Jack and Emily fall in love." Venus finished for my sister, nodding in understanding, "I know. I knew about it ever since you came into Valentine Town."

"Wait! How did you..." I started to ask.

"It's a secret of mine." Venus said cutting me off, "Now please return what you stole."

"But we need them!" Tara said, also coming to my side, "Jack's falling in love with Tiff and Tiff doesn't..."

"Wrong." Venus said, making Tara stop, "Jack isn't falling in love with Tiffany, it's someone else."

All three of us stood there staring at her for a moment before the news finally sank in.

"WHAT?! WHO?!" All three of us yelled.

I winced after I realized we had been screaming and I looked around for anyone that might have heard us. I couldn't see any sign of Emily in the house windows and Jack was still with Duke at the fountain, talking with the local residents who looked confused about the sudden affair of the Mayor and the little witch. I was relieved to see that no one was coming or had seemed to hear us, I didn't want Jack to ask why Venus, the Queen of Hearts from Valentine Town, was here talking to us.

"You'll see in due time, just be patient." Venus said to us rather calmly despite our outburst from earlier as she held out her hand, "My cupid's belongings...please."

I looked at her pleadingly for a moment before I sighed and then went to the stairs, the girls watching me like they couldn't believe what I was about to do. I was completely un-satisfied with Venus' answer to whom Jack was falling in love with, but I also thought that it was none of my business as long as it wasn't me who he was falling in love with.

Don't get me wrong, I like Jack a lot and I would like a guy like him anyday, but in this case he was more like a big brother to me than a love-interest. Besides, Emily had more in common with him than I did and she needed somebody...

_It better be Emily she's talking about._ I thought as I bent down to my knees, looked under the porch for the items, and fetched the bow and quiver with one hand, slightly dragging them out, _Heaven knows Emily deserves love after all the crap she's been through._

As I straightened up, I jumped as I realized that Venus was right beside me and looking down at me with a gentle expression as she held her hand out again. I looked up at her for a moment before I sighed mentally and put the two items in her hand, pulling my hand away as the Queen of Hearts closed her fingers around the items.

"Thank you, and so long." Venus said, waving her specter at us before disappearing in a puff of sparkling pink dust that was full of those dreaded hearts.

The dust had just disappeared when Jack suddenly came through his gate, and I was extremely glad that Venus was gone as he came up scratching his skull.

"I can't understand how this happened." I heard him mutter as I stood up and as I moved, he looked at us, "You were here when the Mayor suddenly fell in love, right?"

"Um..." I said, pretended to think as I looked to the ground casually and scratched my head in my usual thoughtful manner as Jack watched me, "Probably, why?"

"_Sigh, _it's just the darnest thing!" Jack said in a frustrating tone, going past me into the house, "I just can't seem to figure out what happened and no one saw anything. Boogie's Boys aren't around, they haven't been in Halloween Town for a long time and you guys couldn't have done anything!"

_How little you know, Jack. _I thought, my heart aching from guilt.

I wanted to tell him so bad about what had really happened, but then that would lead to why we had the Cupid's things in the first place and I had no idea how Jack would react if he found out that we were trying to get him to fall in love with Emily.

As Jack went up the stairs to his house, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at me.

"You'd better pack tonight if you haven't, Tiff." Jack told me, making me look at him in surprise, "We're leaving first thing tomorrow."

"Oh...okay!" I told him and he smiled at me before he went inside.

We all stared after him until the door closed and then the girls kinda got onto my case.

"Why the rush, yo?" Cassandra asked, coming close and looking up at my face as I also looked down at her.

"I don't know..." I said thoughtfully, turning my head to look at the house again, "We just talked about this last night, so you would think that it would be a while before we took off."

"So why does Jack wanna leave so soon?" Tara asked, and she was twirling her umbrella in thought, making it sparkle in the sun.

"I don't know, but I don't like this." I said, trying to think of why Jack wanted to leave so soon.

Venus had seemed so honest when she said that Jack wasn't falling in love with me, but what if Jack didn't know that himself and he thought he was falling in love with me?

I believe that I scared myself with those thoughts, because nervousness began to arise in my chest while my hands started to shake and the next thing I knew, I was hugged from behind by a very unwelcome person.

"What's the matter, babe?" Duke asked and I growled as I turned my head.

"Duke, if you don't get your hands off me, I'm gonna..." I started, but the girls beat me to it this time.

"LET GO OF TIFFANY, JERK!" Both girls yelled at him as their Ice Storm and Flame Torch grabbed him by the wrists, making him let go in surprise.

"Hey, WHOOOOOOOA!" Duke yelled as the girls held him in place by standing apart so that he was held prisioner by his own outstretched arms.

They then made him turn towards the gate, both of their combined strength being too much for Duke to resist and soon they had him turned, Duke looking both at them one at a time, obviously wondering what they were planning to do like I was as I just stood there.

"Slingshot time, Tiff!" Cassandra then told me and I grinned evilly as my Lightening Strike unwound itself, it's little finger-like objects moving in anticipation.

As I approached, Duke looked over his shoulder at me and looked very calm despite the fact that he was about to be slingshot.

"C'mon babe, all I want is a kiss!" Duke told me in a begging tone and I looked at the girls before I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, fine." I said as I walked up to him, "One kiss..."

I gave him a quick peck on the cheek while he tried to turn his head all the way to get at my lips, but I backed away in time.

"TO GO!" I finished, wrapping my Lightening Strike around his waist and pulling on it as hard as I could before I let go and the girls let go of Duke.

"WHHHHOOOOOOOOOYOOOOOOOOO!" Duke yelled as he flew over the gate and went at a fantastic speed as he managed to do a cannonball before he went right into the fountain, splashing water all over the nearby people.

"Dang it!" I said as I shaded my eyes and looked at where he was as he stood up dripping wet while the other citizens of Halloween Town were yelling at him to be more responsible, "I was aiming for a farther distance than that!"

"HERE I COME, BABE!" Duke yelled as he ignored everyone as he climbed out and came running back to Jack's house.

"CAN'T YOU TAKE A FRIGGIN' HINT?!" I yelled back as all three of us ran into Jack's house and locked the door.

All three of us leaned against it while sliding to the floor as Jack suddenly appeared, coming down the stairs while giving us a funny look.

"What's the matter and why is the door locked?" Jack asked as he leaned over and looked at all of us while his hands were on his hips.

"Duke's the matter and we're trying to keep him away from Tiffany." Cassandra told him and then there was a couple of knocks on the door, making all three of us jump up and run past Jack, who nearly lost his balance.

"Tell Duke I'm not here!" I told Jack over my shoulder as all three of us ran up the stairs and then girls went to their bedrooms while I ran into mine and went to the bed, kneeling down. I then pushed the bedspread aside and the monster-under-the-bed looked at me in surprise with his glowing red eyes.

"Move over!" I told him as I pushed him aside and crawled under the bed, the monster-under-the-bed moving over so that both of us had room under the long skinny bed.

As I laid there with that monster-under-the-bed, I could hear the door being unlocked and I could hear the conversation going on.

"Hello Duke and..." I imagined the confused look on Jack's face, "What happened? Why are you all wet?"

"I was flirting with Tiffany again and the all three of the girls sling-shot me into the fountain." Duke replied and I had to cover my mouth to hold in a chuckle at the memory.

_Good times, good times! _I thought to myself while I got the look that the monster-under-the-bed was giving me, "What?"

He didn't answer and both of us just lay there as I continued to listen.

"Well...that explains why Emily and I heard a huge splash not a moment ago." Jack said and I figured he was trying not to laugh, "But Duke, please don't bother Tiffany anymore. It's obvious to everyone that she doesn't like you the way you like her."

"C'mon Uncle Jack, girls always do stuff like that before they'll finally admit that they like a guy." I heard Duke say and I rolled my nonexistant eyes twice.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Duke." Jack replied, "By the way, Tiffany isn't available right now."

"Wha...what do you mean, Uncle Jack?" Duke asked and I grinned at the confusion in his voice, "I just saw her and her sisters run in here just now!"

"Sorry nephew." Jack said to him and heard the door starting to close, "I'm just following orders, see you later!"

Then the door shut and I let out a sigh of relief as I crawled out from under my bed. As I was fully out, I turned around and looked at the monster-under-the-bed, who looked relieved to have his space again.

"Sorry about that, but believe when I say, it was an emergency." I told the creature as he looked up at me with his 'teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red', "I'll make it up to you somehow. How about a bone or something from supper?"

The monster-under-the-bed just looked at me with a blank expression at my offer.

"Okay, nevermind that." I said and I tried to think of something else while I suddenly felt one of the monster's tenacles creeping up my pants' leg and around my ankle.

I glared down at the monster-under-the-bed while smacking the tenacle away, making it flinch and back away from me into the darkness, disappearing completely from my sight.

"Nice try." I growled at the direction where the creature had gone and I put the covers back down, "Stupid..."

As I walked out my door, I ran into something tall and wearing black/white stripes waiting for me outside my room.

"Hey, I don't remember a pole being here." I said and then looked up at Jack who was smiling in good humor, "Oh, it's you Jack. What's up?"

"Duke is really trying to get you as a girlfriend." Jack replied, looking very amused as I gave him a little space, "In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him try this hard to get a girl."

"Well, what can I say?" I asked in mock vanity, batting my eyelashes at Jack while running one hand through my hair, "I'm adorable."

Jack laughed at what I did and we were walking downstairs when both of us heard something outside that made both of us freeze on the steps. It sounded like three guys singing and they were very good, but they weren't Jack Skellington or Josh Groban, that's for sure!

Jack and I exchanged a look before I hurried to the nearest window, Jack right behind me.

"Please tell me that's not who I think it is." I said to Jack and as we both looked out the window, I groaned.

Duke, along with a vampire and a fish-like monster I had never seen in Halloween Town before, were singing and Jack opened the window so both of us could stick our heads out to look down at them.

The vampire looked almost exaxtly like the second oldest of the four Vampire Brothers, and he had red high-lights through his loose black hair while he wore an outfit that was almost exactly like Dukes, except it was red and had black bats.

The monster looked like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but he had white scales which made him look ghastly and he was also tattooed over over his right arm with words that I couldn't read from where I was. He wore a pair of green shorts that had flaming skulls and what looked like dice or something to me as I was looking at him.

"Oh Lord, here we go!" I told Jack as the three guys sang this song...

_All: Show me the meaning of being lonely...  
Duke: So many words for the broken heart,  
It's hard to see in a crimson love,  
So hard to breathe,  
Walk with me, and maybe...  
Monster: Nights of light so soon become,  
Wild and free I could feel the sun...  
Your every wish will be done.  
They tell me,  
All: Show me the meaning of being lonely,  
Is this the feeling, I need to walk with?  
Tell me why,  
I can't be there where you are,  
There's something missing in my heart...  
Vampire: Life goes on as it never ends,  
Eyes of stone observe the trends,  
They never say forever gains, if only...  
Duke and Vampire: Guilty roads to an endless love...  
There's no control,  
I can end it now,  
Your every wish will be done!  
They tell me...  
All: Show me the meaning of being lonely,  
Is this the feeling, I need to walk with?  
Tell me why,  
I can't be there where you are,  
There's something missing in my heart...  
Monster: There's nowhere to run,  
I have no place to go,  
So random my heart, body, and soul,  
All: How can it be you're asking me,  
To feel the things you never show,  
Duke: You are missing in my heart...  
Tell me why,  
I can't be there where you are,  
All: Show me the meaning of being lonely,  
Is this the feeling, I need to walk with?  
Tell me why,  
I can't be there where you are,  
There's something missing in my heart..._

I had started to lean on my elbows which were on the windowsill in the middle of the song and I was still in that position as they finished.

"Did you teach him how to sing, Jack?" I asked as they drew out the song somewhat dramatically.

"I taught him a few times, but he taught himself most of the way." Jack replied, still watching his nephew as the three now stared up at us.

"Oh, so he has your musical genius?" I asked as I looked at him.

"Well, I wouldn't say genius." Jack replied, scratching his skull while there was a cute little blush on his cheeks.

I was about to tease me about his modesty when Duke yelled up at me and I looked down at him.

"What does he want?" I asked Jack while looking at the trio below.

"So babe, what did you think of the song?" Duke asked me as he looked up at me, having a ridiculous but extremely cute hopeful expression on his face.

"It was pretty nice." I replied honestly, "You three have good harmony."

"So you'll go out with me?" Duke asked, his face just so full of expectation and I snorted.

"No." I said firmly and closed the window.

CrusaderTransformer1: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

Duke: Why are you always so mean to me?!

CrusaderTransformer1: Because, you're after me all the time!

Duke: T-T


	4. Goodbye

This is the last notice that I'm going to post on . I'm sorry to say that I am no longer going to be writing fanfictions, as I have found my interest more focused in drawing comics of late. So some stories, especially Flesh To Metal, are not dying or being left un-told, they're going to be turned into a comic as soon as I can come up with art-styles for them. I thank you for all the patience, kind words, and support that you have shown me here, but I am no longer going to be writing stories. I am no longer inspired to write, so I'm using what talents I have for my account, DominotheFembot.

I thank for my start in telling stories, and I thank everyone for reading my stories. God bless you all, **CrusaderTransformer1**.


	5. Farewell

This is the last notice that I'm going to post on . I'm sorry to say that I am no longer going to be writing fanfictions, as I have found my interest more focused in drawing comics of late. So some stories, especially Flesh To Metal, are not dying or being left un-told, they're going to be turned into a comic as soon as I can come up with art-styles for them. I thank you for all the patience, kind words, and support that you have shown me here, but I am no longer going to be writing stories. I am no longer inspired to write, so I'm using what talents I have for my deviantart dot com account, DominotheFembot.

I thank Fanfiction dot net for my start in telling stories, and I thank everyone for reading my stories. God bless you all, **CrusaderTransformer1**.


End file.
